Ready to rumble: now that Kobe and Shaq finally are separate, each is eager to prove they never were equals. How the former Lakers--and a few other new rivals--settle their scores will shape the season.(NBA Preview)

At 8:30 Tuesday morning, a black Mercedes-Benz driven by Jerome Crawford pulled into the parking lot of AmericanAirlines Arena in downtown Miami, carrying in its passenger seat Shaquille O'Neal, the new Miami Heat center reporting for his first day on the job. The car still bore license plates from California, just another reminder of O'Neal's tumultuous recent history on the West Coast--his chronically fractured relationship with former teammate Kobe Bryant, the preference of Lakers owner Jerry Buss to cater to Bryant and the subsequent trade demand that led to O'Neal's arrival in Miami. As O'Neal, blessed with a heavyweight's build, unfolded himself from the car, one ...