A Jermaine Question

Since beginning his summer regimen on May 10 alongside scores of collegians who were preparing with Abunassar for the draft, O'Neal has strengthened his hamstrings and glutes to radically improve his jumping technique and take pressure off the left knee. (He plans to wear a brace next season to prevent hyperextensions, which can lead to painful bone bruises.) He has increased the strength of his torso and legs by doing crunches and balancing exercises while shedding 10 pounds to get down to his current weight of 260—no small thanks to nutritionist Tony Falce. "Because he has type A blood, he stays away from red meat," says Falce. "No potatoes, no tomatoes, but he can have rice, egg whites, soybeans and broccoli."

Falce communicates with O'Neal's chef to keep their client from dwelling on the don'ts. But O'Neal did notice he was eating too much fish. "Every single day," he says. "Everything started to taste really fishy." Falce has since shifted him to entrees of chicken and turkey.

IN ORDER TO complement the 6'10" Bosh in Toronto, O'Neal will shift to center, where his knack for rebounding, drawing charges and altering shots—he averaged at least two blocks in each of his eight seasons in Indiana—will strengthen the Raptors' flimsy defense. At the other end O'Neal and Bosh are versatile enough to take turns playing high or low. Together they'll elevate 7-foot Andrea Bargnani, the No. 1 pick of the 2006 draft, who has struggled in his first two seasons but should thrive as the defense focuses on O'Neal and Bosh.

O'Neal's impending arrival has already prompted questions about whether Bosh, 24, should surrender his leadership of the Raptors. "I'm not brought in to be the new face of the team; I'm brought in to take the team to the next level," says O'Neal. "It's Chris's team, and I'm not coming in to step on his feet or [coach] Sam Mitchell's feet. But I'm not just trying to fit in, either. I'm trying to be dominant."

Few go to Vegas to recuperate; usually they have to recover from a long, dissolute weekend there. But O'Neal believes the investment he's making in himself this summer isn't a gamble. "People who want it to be easy are people who haven't succeeded in life," he says. "Now I'm in a position where I can play pain-free—and I'm two months away from training camp. It's going to really be scary." In a good way, he means.