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Hours After Horrifying Start, Shaquille O’Neal Rips Kevin Durant and Chris Paul’s Suns Despite Devin Booker’s Masterclass

Published 05/04/2023, 2:16 PM EDT

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In this year’s NBA Playoffs, the western conference is highly stacked up with great competition. In the round 2 showdown, the Denver Nuggets are going to war with the Phoenix Suns. The Suns, led by their newly acquired player Kevin Durant, were favored more by the fans. But the Nuggets led by former MVP Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray had the answer to the Suns.

The Nuggets are two games up in the series, shocking the world and leaving Durant and the Suns under the scrutiny of media and fans. Former Laker Shaquille O’Neal took a dig at the Suns for their poor performance.

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Shaq sends words of wisdom to DeAndre Ayton and the Phoenix Suns

On his YouTube podcast, The Big Podcast with Shaq, the Big Diesel shed light on the performance of the Suns. Shaq criticized Kevin Durant for his average performance during the crucial games. He stated that “ If he wants to win, he got to play like the superstar he is”.

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O’Neal, referring to his co-hosts, quoted ” The Suns don’t have a scoring bench. They get 4 points from their bench.” He jokingly added, “We three together can score more than their bench”. Shaq also emphasized DeAndre Ayton’s lack of willingness to rebound and defend the board. O’Neal sent Ayton one of his game’s video clips in which Ayton shows a lack of willingness to rebound against Nikola Jokic.

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Devin Booker gets his props from the Former NBA Champion

O’Neal praised Phoenix Suns’ guard Devin Booker for his performances in both games against the Nuggets. Booker, despite the lack of support from his teammates, is averaging more than 30 points in the series. He’s the highest scorer for his team, followed by Durant, who’s averaging 26 points per game.

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READ MORE: 37 Year Old Chris Paul Finally Overcomes 9 Year Curse as Devin Booker and Kevin Durant Lead Suns to Triumph.

Shaq did not consider Chris Paul’s getting out of the series as a detrimental factor. Paul checked out of the series amid game 2 due to a groin injury. Nuggets, on the other hand, have it all. Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic are putting up big numbers. The Nuggets supporting cast of Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr, and KCP is scoring in double figures and defending their board well.

WATCH THIS STORY: “Take It Personally”: As Kevin Durant and Devin Booker Lead Suns’ Triumph, NFL Legend Slams 7ft Star for “Unacceptable” Contribution.

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O’Neal predicts the Nuggets vs the Suns series in a nutshell. According to the legend, good scoring from their superstar Kevin Durant and good rebounding from DeAndre Ayton can help the Suns go the distance with the Nuggets. Booker is doing his best playing like a superstar, but to win the series against the Nuggets, he’s not enough alone. What are your thoughts on Shaq’s take? Let us know in the comments. 

 

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Written by:

Abhishek Sharma

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Abhishek is an NBA content writer at EssentiallySports. Abhishek has been a basketball fan for a long time and is interested in the competition among the great players that step onto the court. He supports LeBron James and keenly follows the matchups of the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Edited by:

Debmallya Chakraborty