Latest News About Cleveland Cavaliers Update , While the fanfare rightly will center on LeBron James? this postseason, Shaquille O'Neal will likely play a prominent role in the playoffs and could win his fifth NBA title in the process.? Though Shaq is already in elite company in terms of the all-time great big men, he also has a fairly unique opportunity to win another title with one of the game's young superstars, after already winning one with Dwyane Wade and three with Kobe Bryant.? Even if Shaq's days of dominance are clearly behind him, he's still a force down low in spurts and could be the matchup with Dwight Howard that the Cavs sought when they brought him over from Phoenix.
As of April 19th, the Cavs were up 1-0 on the Chicago Bulls and appeared to be headed without much of a problem to the second round, where they will face either the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics.? Coming off of a painful thumb injury, Shaq looked surprisingly spry and energetic in 25 minutes during the first playoff game, racking up 12 points, three blocks and four assists.
With Antawn Jamison, LeBron and Anderson Varejao all contributing significantly on the boards, Shaq's main purpose throughout the playoffs will be to body up the opposing big men and provide a place to start the ball down low.? His four assists in limited action should serve as a reminder that Shaq is still a very strong passing big man and he has proven with the Cavs that he is willing to accept a limited offensive role.? Though fans will mostly be attending games to see what LeBron will do this postseason, a star persona like Shaq's still certainly helps to sell <a rel="nofollow" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/article_exit_link');" href="http://www.stubhub.com/cleveland-cavaliers-playoff-tickets/">Cleveland Cavaliers playoff tickets</a>.
His biggest task won't come for a while yet, however, as the Cavs clearly brought him over for a potential matchup with the Orlando Magic, who beat the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009.? With Dwight Howard, who is hands down the best center in the league, Shaq will have his hands full and will have to rely on his overall size and experience to slow Howard down.? Between Shaq and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, though, the Cavs feel that they have the interior presence that can limit Howard from dominating the paint.
For an explosive personality like Shaq, the transition to role player has also been a welcomed influence for the Cavs and speaks volumes to his character.? Shaq has never set the world on fire with his work ethic, of course, but there are plenty of former superstars in the league who would have extreme difficulty delegating to other players after achieving the level of accolades that Shaq has.? Shaq has turned into a perfect example of what a former superstar can still accomplish when they play unselfishly.? He now has the legitimate possibility of helping LeBron get over the hump and win a title, which would only add to Shaq's already solidified status as an all-time NBA great.
This year's playoffs could also very likely be the last time Shaq has a chance to reach the NBA Finals as a starter.? Shaq's contract expires at the end of the year and there is almost no chance that another team will sign him to a big contract, even for a year or two.? For the 38-year-old big man, he will be faced this offseason with the decision of retiring or signing strictly as a bench player for considerably less money than he's used to getting paid.? If he can win a title with King James, the decision might be made considerably easier and it could be the perfect time for him to walk away from the game, making this the possible last hurrah for one of the most well-known and influential personalities in the NBA for the past 17 years
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