Jawai's bulk will be needed against Shaq

Today's story lines include some strikingly familiar faces to the Twin Cities ...

By JERRY ZGODA, Star Tribune

Last update: October 30, 2009 - 12:28 AM

LeBron James arrives early this season for his lone Target Center appearance, tonight against the Timberwolves.

And this time, for the first time, he's bringing Shaquille O'Neal with him.

Such special occasions sometimes require new approaches, which is why Wolves coach Kurt Rambis plans to introduce newly acquired Nathan Jawai 10 days after he was obtained from Dallas in a bit of salary-cap bookkeeping.

The Wolves traded a very conditional future second-round pick for Jawai and some of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's plentiful cash in a transaction for a young, raw prospect who possibly can provide a team that's otherwise either undersized (Kevin Love, Al Jefferson) or lanky (Ryan Hollins) up front with some needed bulk.

In Jawai's native Australia, he has been dubbed "Baby Shaq" simply because, like O'Neal, he's a big fella: Approaching 6-10 and probably 300 pounds.

On these shores, that has been modified to the Australian Shaq.

"Or Outback Shaq," teammate Ryan Gomes said. "I've heard that one, too."

Just don't call him any of those things to his face.

"Don't call me that name again," Jawai said Thursday as the undefeated Wolves (1-0) prepared for the winless Cavaliers (0-2). "I hate that name. That's not my name. That guy is a future Hall of Famer, so why compare me to him? I don't know, people in Australia started calling me that. We don't have similar games. He's more of a scorer. He's a dominant force."

O'Neal also is at least three inches taller and a good 40 pounds heavier or more.

"Go ask him yourself," Jawai said when asked how much height and weight he might give up against O'Neal. "I'm big, but I'm not even as big as him. I've stood next to him. I'm not his size. We have different games. People who know basketball know we're totally different."

Jawai was inactive for the Wolves' inexplicable 95-93 comeback victory over New Jersey in their season opener on Wednesday, but Rambis suggested Thursday there could be a time and a place to play Jawai tonight against O'Neal and a Cavaliers team that has opened the season with a home loss to Boston and a road one at Toronto.

"That has been given strong consideration, yes," Rambis said.

For more than a week, assistant coach Bill Laimbeer has drilled Jawai -- a 2008 second-round pick who has been traded from Indiana to Toronto to Dallas to Minnesota since then -- on low-post maneuvers.

Now, apparently, he is ready.

Or at least needed.

"He has been a pleasant surprise for the entire coaching staff," Rambis said. "He's very light on his feet for a big man, and he has something that we don't have on this team: somebody with some tremendous size and strength. He's got good basketball instincts and high basketball IQ. He can jump. He's quick. He's a project, but he's an exciting project."

Jawai was diagnosed last season with an enlarged heart that sidelined him until the Raptors cleared him to play. He also needs to lose some weight -- 10 pounds or more -- to get him into the 285-pound range.

"I haven't weighed him, he hasn't stepped on me yet," Rambis said. "It's hard to carry a lot of weight in this league. There's so much pounding on your joints. It's just not conducive to a long career. That's how you end up getting hurt."

Jawai is one option on a night when the Wolves will throw a list of defenders at both James and O'Neal, who was acquired from Phoenix last summer in a move intended to bring James a title and keep him happy in Cleveland when free agency calls next summer.

"Shaq changes them a lot," Gomes said. "Now you have to honor both of them. They're still learning how to play with each other. Once they learn that ..."

Until then, who would have imagined the Wolves would be undefeated and the Cavaliers winless after losses to Boston and Toronto, even this early in the season?

"He probably won't be too happy," Rambis said about James' mood tonight. "He also has been around long enough and been the leader of a team long enough and in the playoffs long enough to know it's a long season. The reality is most people won't even remember how you start off a season."

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