Shaquille O’Neal Puts Lakers’ Burden on This 6ft 3 Star After Conflicting Playoffs Display

After stretching the series to Game 5, the Lakers have revived Shaquille O’Neal’s hope of being right. He just wants the whole team to pull their weight and not just LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Inside Guys commended the Lakers duo for preventing a sweep but also added that it was possible because their teammates came through. Shaq wants to live some of his own Lakers era through the Game 5 play.

Ahead of Game 5 in Denver, Shaq namedropped the Lakers stars he wants to see shine, one of them being D’Angelo Russell. “LeBron and AD have been playing exceptional,” Shaq said during Inside the NBA. “Now the others going to have to step up.” 

He predicted one of the other Lakers pros, preferably D-Lo will have a “big game.” Ernie Johnson brought up Russell’s inconsistencies this series – 13 points in Game 1, 23 in Game 2, scoreless in Game 3, 21 points in Game 4 – and they all agreed “One other is all we need,” from D-Lo.

“Tonight for the Lakers, this game is about the others,” Shaq said. Going back to when he three-peated with the same team, he recalled when other players pulled it together for him and Kobe Bryant. “I can remember coming in the locker room at times and Derek Fisher saying, ‘I’m ready,’ Big Shot Bob [Robert Horry] saying, ‘I’m ready,’ B Shaw [Brian Shaw] saying, ‘Shaq you go to work. When they start double and triple-teaming, I’m ready.'” 

While James and Davis are doing a tremendous job carrying the scoring load, Shaq is hoping D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura will have to be the reinforcement the way Derek Fisher and Robert Horry were to Shaq and Kobe.

Citing Game 4 where James had 30 and AD matched Shaq in a franchise record, the Inside Guys agreed the sweep was stalled because D-Lo and Reaves put up 21 points a piece. A repeat would be ideal to make Shaq’s prediction of the Lakers pulling a miracle come true.

Shaquille O’Neal is resigned to the Lakers’ fate

Hope had waned significantly for the Lakers legend, who called the current Lakers their own worst enemy. Yet, until Game 2 at least, Shaq was hopeful they’d realize their flaws and pull a miracle. Bron’s squad broke their losing streak against the Denver Nuggets winning Game 4 in LA. Since then, they talked about ‘cracking the code,’ which gave the Inside Guys a chuckle.

The quartet seemed to have been resigned to the outcome of the series. After the Minnesota Timberwolves swept the Phoenix Suns, Shaq and Chuck spoke about a faceoff between Anthony Edwards and Nikola Jokic like a Denver win is inevitable.

Whether that happens remains to be seen. The Nuggets-Lakers series is still up in the air and only one game could decide the fate of Shaq’s team.