Damian Lillard Fails to Gain Shaquille O’Neal’s Favor Despite Game 1 Victory Over Pacers

Damian Lillard & C0. set the tone for the series in the first round. However, Shaquille O’Neal still doesn’t see it going in the favor of the Bucks. After the disappointing 94-109 setback the Indiana Pacers started the playoffs with, Shaq is confident they will turn it around. He’s been favoring the Pacers for a while now and has been especially critical of the Milwaukee Bucks since Doc Rivers took over. But the Bucks have been defying O’Neal’s expectations and yet he’s not thoroughly convinced.

Before the playoffs, Shaq picked the Pacers over the Bucks among all his predictions. What makes him confident about the Pacers in this series? “They’re a young, confident bunch. They will not be discouraged by this game.” He congratulated Milwaukee and was impressed by their game, but ultimately said, “I’m still looking at Indiana for the series.” It’s so on-brand for Shaq that the rest of the Inside Guys didn’t even counter him.

After going off for 35 points, Dame did predict this would be a long series. And Shaq agrees. It’s still the first game and it can go any way in a series. Shaq is basing this off the stamina and ability to stretch out the series the Pacers displayed in Game 1.

Following a poor first half, the Pacers came into the second half more confident. Despite losing Game 1, Shaq is sure they’ll show similar bravado in Game 2. “All they got to do is get one,” he said. This could be him implying that the gaps in Doc Rivers’ team could come up during this series.

Bucks’ flaw could surface, as per Shaquille O’Neal

Shaquille O’Neal has been saying the same thing since the All-Star break – with a superteam of Dame Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, opponents are going to target them and the gaps in the defense. The Inside Guys have been critical of the Bucks’ defense from the get-go, which became glaring when this team lost to the Memphis Grizzlies last month.

The Bucks started the season as strong contenders for the championship and with MVP candidates. Those chances have been shaky while Doc Rivers is trying to shape them up. Last month, he warned the Bucks if they didn’t fix their defense, they’d be swept in the first round. That was before he knew they’d play against Indiana in the playoffs too.

O’Neal might be seeing Indiana taking advantage of the pattern. Similar to how they found their footing in the second half, they might keep it going in Game 2 as well. He’s, however, been on a streak of bold and hard-to-absorb predictions. We’ll have to wait and see what Shaq’s seeing.