One series is over, one more continues. The Indiana Pacers were swept clean in four games in the Eastern Conference playoff series. It was fun while it lasted, but Boston is, well… Boston. Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves have some unfinished business.
Tuesday night in Dallas, the T-Wolves kept their hopes alive – if only by a tiny bit – by defeating the Dallas Mavs 105-100. The series now moves back to the Target Center in Minneapolis for game five. If you saw the game, you might also have caught a glimpse of our man Shaq sitting courtside. Nice seats!
This being Dallas, there were several other stars in attendance, not just O’Neal. In fact, sitting not too far away was Dallas Cowboys star cornerback Trevon Diggs. Spotting Shaq, Diggs asked the big man a simple question. “Aye Shaq, you averaging 40 today?” Diggs asked.
Shaq took exactly zero seconds to formulate his answer to both Diggs Cowboys linebacker Micah Parson, also sitting nearby. It was a simple answer: “Easy,” O’Neal said.
The BIG Podcast with SHAQ
The football guys chuckled at the quick answer, but Diggs knew what Shaq was talking about. “They’re too small,” he said, referring to the size of most of today’s NBA players. Sure, there are a few big men, but they’re few and far between, and none of the current crop measures up to Shaq when it comes to size, strength and overall dominance. A random fan sitting nearby overheard the conversation. “He’s not lying,” the guy chimed in.
So now the series heads back to Minneapolis, where Shaq and Sir Charles might get a chilly reception. Talking about the return to Minnesota on the postgame show after the Dallas loss, Shaq said he was a bit unimpressed with returning to what he called “cold-ass Minnesota.”
Keep in mind that both Barkley and O’Neal called Minneapolis a “great city” as recently as Friday. What changed their minds? For Sir Charles, it’s the weather…but he might have to check an official source for info before he goes off on local conditions.
During the broadcast, Barkley said Mavs head coach Jason Kidd should show his team a picture of the conditions in Minnesota and say: “Y’all don’t want to go back to this, do ya?” Then he even went as far as to say it was snowing in Minnesota. Apparently, he’d seen some random video on social media.
Still, trust the science, as they say. Weather outside the Target Center on Thursday evening, is predicted to be “cold-ass” 78 degrees – which is the SAME forecasted high for Dallas on Thursday.
See you in Minnesota!