Shaquille O’Neal defends LeBron James over the NBA Finals flameout – Basketball News
Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal has defended former teammate LeBron James over his NBA Finals debacle. LeBron faced stinging criticism for his displays in the NBA Finals after he was upstaged by Dallas Mavericks mercurial forward Dirk Nowitzki as well as teammate Dwyane Wade.
Shaq however believes it wasn’t as much of LeBron’s fault as it is made out to be. ‘The Diesel’ knows all about the NBA Finals, he won four of them in his glittering 19 year NBA career. Shaq was named a Finals MVP 3 times in his career as well.
The “Superman”, was of the view that James didn’t underperform as much as he misdirected his energies to the detriment of the Miami Heat. While Nowitzki took the bull by the horns and took the game to the Heat singlehandedly, LeBron was more interested in taking his team along and getting everyone involved. That though, is just the nature of the game the “Chosen One” plays.
“In the Finals, I think he was trying to get everybody else involved rather than take over the game.” Shaq said in an exclusive interview during an interview with Times-Picayune sports writer John Reid..
He also dwelled in detail on the pressure one faces in the NBA Finals. It is not something people can understand unless they have been there and it is not easy.
“I don’t think pressure got to him. Surely he took a lot of shots, but he’s not solely in charge there. He’s a great player, but in the Finals, it’s d**n if he do and d**n if he don’t. He thinks about that too much.”
However, O’Neal was also clear that LeBron will have to own up to the pressure if he is to succeed. It is something that everyone has had to face in order to be successful. Shaquille quoted the example of himself, when he fell in the NBA Finals to the majestic Hakeem Olajuwon and his Houston Rockets and had to wait until he teamed up with Kobe Bryant to win the NBA title.
He also said everyone from Michael Jordan to Isiah Thomas to Dwyane Wade went through and overcame the same demons LeBron faces today, and he will have to walk the walk as well in order to reach the top.
He also said Wade and LeBron need to define their roles in the team and one of them had to take the lead.
“Somebody from upstairs is going have to say there has to be a one, CEO No. 1, and a vice president between the two of them (Wade). A lot of people are trying to compare them to Scotty Pippen and Jordan. That isn’t Scotty and Mike. It’s more like Mike and Dominique Wilkins. They both took shots and scored.”
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