Shaquille O’Neal, NBA legend and TV analyst gave his thoughts on the Boston Celtics. On the OGs Show with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller, Shaq claimed that the Celtics had an easy path to an NBA Championship. Shaq said, “We all know Boston had the easiest run ever to that championship… Like, okay, you had an easy run, but can you back it up?” Udonis Haslem agreed with Shaq’s sentiment, and the podcast had seemingly unanimous opinions on the defending NBA champions.
Shaq Doubting the Boston Celtics
Shaq and Udonis Haslem doubting the Boston Celtics is not a new phenomenon. Shaq and Haslem predicted the Dallas Mavericks to defeat the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, but now that the Celtics have won the series, they claim it was an easy run on the OGs Show. It is a bit hypocritical, as to be expected in NBA media. It was a trend that followed the Celtics throughout their playoff run, and now in the offseason. People will talk about how the Celtics are overrated and pick against them, and then when they win, they will say that the Celtics did not do enough, or that their path was easy.
Shaq went on to say that there were teams like the 76ers, Bucks, Magic, and Heat who could challenge the Celtics in the Eastern Conference. The 76ers added Paul George and recently extended former MVP Joel Embiid. The Bucks were not healthy in the playoffs and are still hungry for a championship run with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. The Heat have given the Celtics plenty of problems in the past, and the Magic are another young, hungry team. And beyond the team’s Shaq mentioned, there’s also the Knicks and Pacers, among others.
The Boston Celtics Finals Path
To Shaq and Udonis Haslem’s credit, the Boston Celtics did get many breaks to go their way in the playoffs. In the first-round series against the Miami Heat, the Heat played without their star Jimmy Butler. But the Celtics suffered their own injuries in this series, with Kristaps Porzingis going down and missing most of the playoffs. Still, the Celtics won the series in five games, with great play from Derrick White.
In the second round, the Celtics faced the Cleveland Cavaliers. In this series, Cleveland’s star player, Donovan Mitchell missed multiple games and Boston won in five. Then, in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics swept the Indiana Pacers, with Jaylen Brown winning the Eastern Conference Finals MVP. But Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton missed games three and four.
In the NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks were healthy and had made it out of the bloodbath that is the Western Conference. Because of this, many people like Shaq and Udonis Haslem thought the Mavericks, with their duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, could beat the Celtics. But the Boston Celtics were still dominant, winning the series in five games.
So, while the Boston Celtics did get some injury luck on their way to the finals, they still beat a healthy Mavericks team in five games. And they went through almost the entire playoff run without Kristaps Porzingis. The path was not the gauntlet other teams have gone through in the past, but the Celtics still soundly defeated everyone in front of them and should get credit and respect for it.
Final Thoughts
The Boston Celtics finals path did have a few things break their way. However, Shaq and Udonis Haslem still predicted that the Dallas Mavericks would defeat the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. So, calling it the “easiest run ever” may be a bit of hyperbole.
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