The Phoenix Suns lost last night to the Lakers by 6 points. However, the layman thinks that Shaq had 15 points and 9 rebounds are good numbers.

But we took at look at his number beyond the 15 and 9. Shaq also went 3 for 8 from the free thow line and was responsible for 3 turnovers. We were able to put some math to it and found that Shaq's presence on the court cost the Suns 7.42 points from those turnovers and missed free throws.

We came to this by adjusting Shaq's free throw % (and points) to reflect the team average. In addition, the Suns went 51.6% from the field last night. The 3 turnovers he caused had low end upside of 6 points, therefore costing them 3.06 against their total. This ignores the fact that one of the turnovers led to Laker points.

However, these are hard numbers based on the short sample. The Suns shot 92% from the free throw line, so his adjusted totals reflect that abnormally high number. The Suns shoot 80% from the line as a team for the season. Had they did that last night and we used that for Shaq's adjustment, he only cost them 6.54 points.

We give no credit for his 15 and 9 because those numbers mirror what Marion would have had. The free throws and turnovers kill the Suns, and will continue to hamper them in the long haul.