Forget about how many points Shaquille O’Neal scores; forget about how many rebounds he rips from the glass; forget about his low post defense.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with statistics, they can be misleading.

If you want to evaluate Shaq’s debut with the Phoenix Suns, keep it simple.

The only thing I’ll be looking for out of Shaq is whether or not he still has the athleticism to be effective in the NBA. I want to see how he moves, watch his feet and see if he still has hops in those reportedly old, tired legs. Although conditioning will be a factor at some point, Shaq’s athleticism (or lack thereof) will be easy to spot.

This is important; if Shaq has juice in his athletic tank, everything else will come. The points will come, the boards will come, the defense will come and, with all of this, the leadership he brings will not be based on reputation, but production. And this is critical.

Shaq can say all the right things; he can point to his finger and say he wants a another championship ring (or two); he can talk about his four NBA titles; he can talk about elevating Amare Stoudemire’s game as the supreme sensei, preparing to pass along his knowledge to “Amare-son.” But if he can’t play, all of this talk won’t do squat and his immense leadership qualities will eventually fall on deaf ears.

Which brings us back to Shaq’s athleticism. If the big-man can still move his feet and regain some semblance of the agility he once displayed to a terrified league, everything else will fall into place.

Including championships…