O’Neal came to Phoenix with a nagging hip injury that he feared might cut short his career. He was in no position to demand 15 to 20 shots a game, or to capitalize on them.

After 11 months of corrective exercises, the hip is no longer an issue, O’Neal said.

“I got a guy here, his name is Nellie,” O’Neal said, referring to the Suns’ head athletic trainer Aaron Nelson, who was working on him as he spoke. “He’s not one of those old guys who just gives you ice and stim. He actually knows his stuff. When I first came in, he laughed. He said, ‘You know what, you don’t have a hip problem.’ ”

The problem, as O’Neal has described it, was that a muscle in his considerable posterior was not “firing” correctly. Nelson’s program helped him retrain those muscles. With his explosiveness back, O’Neal went to Porter in early December.

“I just told him, ‘Y’all want me to be me, I’m feeling good, the best shape of my life, bring it to me,’ ” O’Neal said.

Seems to me the Blazers would do well to hire some PROGRESSIVE ATHLETIC TRAINERS
PHOENIX SUNS:
Aaron Nelson: Head Athletic Trainer
Mike Elliott: Head Strength and Conditioning Coach/Assistant Athletic Trainer

The Blazers need a new fitness/training staff.