The Lakers are certainly lucky that they will only face the Miami Heat two times this season, because Shaquille O'Neal has scores to settle and continues to speak of them.

O'Neal believes the Lakers made him The Big Scapegoat. "It was just guys upstairs who can't step up and do what they're supposed to do. They've got to have a scapegoat, and they know that I'm strong enough to be that scapegoat," said O'Neal, traded by the Lakers to Miami in July.

"My thing is, if I'm going to be the scapegoat, let me be in charge and let me do it my way," said O'Neal, whose friction with teammate Kobe Bryant was well documented. "So if I'm in charge and everybody knows I'm in charge and we're doing it my way and it don't work, then they can, `Say hey, you did it.'

"When I was coming up, I was always taught to be righteous. By watching guys like Magic (Johnson) and Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) and watching the way the game was totally played, it was played righteously," he said. "So when it stopped being righteous, I didn't want to be a part of that.

"I'm a big guy with a big frame and I lift heavy weights. When you lift heavy weights, you put on muscle and when you step on that scale, the number's going to be high. If I was out of shape and averaged 27 (points) and 10 (rebounds), I'm the greatest player ever created. And I know I'm not the greatest player ever created."