The Mag's Chris Palmer decided to get to the bottom of this Shaq free throw thing.

On my way to Lakers practice in L.A. the other day, I was bracing myself for how intense the free-throw shooting sessions would be. Since the Lakers are dead last in the league from the stripe, I pictured Phil Jackson hypnotizing them with magic beads or installing day-glo rims.

To start, he had his team pair off in the weirdest combinations possible. There was Kobe Bryant and Isaiah Rider rebounding for each other and, no doubt, marveling at how much they have in common. Then there was Mark "Mad Dog" Madsen, a classic underdog and one heck of a nice guy, teamed up with what I thought was an assistant trainer or something. I realized he wasn't when ... he got into the game later that night. Meet Mike Penberthy from The Masters College -- because most of his teammates haven't. And then there was Shaq and his 41% from the line, working harder than anyone. Problem was, he was working on his kickball game.

With Shaq standing on the baseline, Brian Shaw rolled one of those Resist-a-Balls from half court -- which Shaq promptly laid into with his size-22 Dunk.nets. The big green balls, which are used for stretching abdominal muscles, are about five feet high and as round as Shawn Kemp. Shaq sent it flying about 70 feet, shanked it just outside the first-base line, and bowled over about 10 reporters. After a few more pitches -- mostly slow, bouncy and inside -- all Diesel was able to manage was a couple of 60-foot pop-ups. Turns out his form is all wrong.

Chris Palmer is a writer/reporter at ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at christian.palmer@espnmag.com, or click the "reply" button at the top.