Shaquille O’Neal Drops His Favorites for NBA Finals 2022, Leaves Out LeBron James’ Lakers

Shaquille O’Neal was on the Gary Vee podcast recently where he talked about entrepreneurship and business. The interviewer also asked Shaq about which teams according to him would be in the NBA finals to which he gave an honest answer and choose the Brooklyn Nets and the Golden State Warriors. Shaq left LeBron James and the Lakers out of the equation as they have been very poor this season.

Shaquille O’Neal gives his NBA finals prediction

Although it is still very early to predict who will be in the NBA finals, Shaquille O’Neal has already named his favorites. The Brooklyn Nets and The Golden State Warriors have been sensational this season and are the favorites to win the NBA championship according to Shaq.

Shaq said, “Frontrunners on the west, Golden State Warriors because nobody expected them to be that good. On the east, Brooklyn Nets are doing their thing. And in the finals, I would like to see Golden State Warriors vs the Brooklyn Nets.”

Interestingly, Shaquille O’Neal left out LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. They sure are struggling, but it seems Shaq has already given up hope on them.

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How is LeBron James performing this season?

LeBron James has taken the sole responsibility of the Lakers on himself this season. With Anthony Davis out with injury and Russell Westbrook struggling, James is the only one performing well.

James has been amazing this season. He averages 28.6 points per game,7.5 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game this season.

These stellar numbers by King James aren’t enough to help the Los Angeles Lakers. Currently placed 7th in the western conference, the Lakers are fighting for a playoff spot. The one thing which analysts and former players have been pointing out is the performances of the Lakers in the 4th quarter.

Russell Westbrook’s performance and decision-making in the fourth quarter of the game have been heavily criticized. The Lakers have blown a third-quarter lead on a number of occasions this season.

Westbrook mentions the lack of ball movement in the fourth quarter has been the main difference between the play of the Lakers compared to the Houston Rockets.

Westbrook mentioned, “Just our ball movement. Just play different. Two fourth quarters in Houston and tonight just different the way we played. It is what it is.“

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How far do you think the Los Angeles Lakers are going to go? Let us know in the comments below.