Shaq’s take on a potential Lakers/Nuggets playoff matchup is preposterous

Shaquille O’Neal is known for many things, but hard-hitting basketball analysis is not exactly one of them. He was one of the most dominant players in NBA history and had a larger-than-life personality to match. He has had no problem standing out since his retirement and his basketball takes aren’t always great, but he brings plenty of entertainment and comedy value to TNT’s Inside the NBA.

As a former three-time Finals MVP for the Lakers, O’Neal does offer a unique perspective when it comes to that team and being inside the locker room. He obviously has connections around the NBA to this day, and can occasionally offer some enlightening details that other, frankly better, analysts can’t bring to the table.

On Tuesday night, the Lakers faced Luka Doncic’s former team, the Dallas Mavericks and pulled out a tight 107-99 victory. Doncic had his first triple-double in a Lakers uniform, but the team showed some flaws and struggled to pull away from a very shorthanded Mavs squad.

During the postgame show on TNT, the desk was discussing the loaded Western Conference and how the playoffs will shake out. Shaq, Candace Parker, Vince Carter, and Jared Greenberg all seemed to agree that matchups will be critical as there isn’t a ton of separation after the Thunder.

Shaq claims Lakers should rather face Nuggets than Rockets

But when pressed on the matchup conversation, O’Neal pivoted and claimed that OKC doesn’t care about matchups because they are the one seed. He claimed that when you’re the top dogs, the locker room isn’t concerned with the teams below them as they are confident they’ll be able to defeat all comers.

Then the conversation pivoted to the Lakers and Shaq used them as an example to make his matchups point, but did so in an insane way. He claimed that an older team like LA, led by a 40-year old LeBron James doesn’t want to see a young, athletic team like the Rockets and that they would rather face Denver.

The overreactions to one Lakers/Nuggets game have gone way too far

This is just a wild take from Shaq for a number of reasons. First of all, the Nuggets have knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, losing only one game in the process. They had defeated LA 13 out of 14 times leading up to their Saturday matchup, which the Lakers dominated.

That one game certainly shouldn’t change the history of this matchup and while the Lakers are a different team with Doncic, there is no way they want to face a Nuggets team that still employs Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray and has completely owned them for the better part of three years.

Beyond that, for him to use the Rockets as a specific example is hilarious. Houston has had a great season, but this team is completely green and lacking in playoff experience. They are also a very incomplete roster and this year has been almost experimental. They’ve purposely been patient in seeing what they have with these young players, but it’s pretty clear they’re going nowhere with their current offensive situation.

The Rockets have been a great story, but they’ll be heavy underdogs in their first-round matchup almost regardless of opponent. The Nuggets, on the other hand, have the best player alive, they have legitimate championship pedigree, and they’ll be favored in any West matchup other than against the Thunder.

Lakers derangement syndrome is a very real problem in the mainstream media and this is just the latest example. Sure, they looked good the other night, but if LA would seriously rather play Denver than Houston, that entire organization is as delusional as Shaq. 

Luckily, there is still some hope as Parker acted as the voice of reason and was quick to interrupt O’Neal’s rant, chiming in “You do not want to play Denver if you’re the Lakers”. At least one person on the desk has some sense left, but Shaq’s comments were eyebrow-raising to say the very least.