(CRAFT)[SHAQ WAS DOMINANT. THERE’S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT.]

Even when you’re playing with a dominant center, the best way to get them rolling is by creating easy opportunities for them. I did that by selling the idea that I was going to shoot the ball. That would draw defenders’ attention to me and away from Shaq. His finish would then be simple.
So how did I go about that?
I would attack. I would penetrate. I would get all the way to the rim. I would even leave my feet—which is fundamentally unsound—to make the defender believe I was going to try to finish. Once they bought in, I would scoop the ball off to Shaq.
All of this is fairly obvious, but the subtle secret to success is to get defenders to put their hands in the air in an attempt to block your shot. If you do that, if you really fool them into thinking they need to contest, there’s always a nice open pocket to shovel a pass through.
Let’s talk about the pass, too. If you’re going to go through all of that effort to set the play up, if you’re going to get hacked and pounded on your way to the hoop, you better make sure you don’t mess up the last step. You have to know your big man’s preferences. You have to know where they like to sit in the lane, how they like to catch the ball, which hand they like to finish with.
On this play, I just had to make sure to put the pass on Shaq’s left hand. Then he could use his body as a shield against the trailing defender and complete the play without worrying about getting fouled.