Sunday 27 September 2020 11:10, UK
Shaquille O’Neal said it was 'no surprise' to see the Los Angeles Lakers reach the NBA Finals as his former team became Western Conference champions with a 4-1 series win over the Denver Nuggets.
LeBron James scored 16 fourth-quarter points to lead the Lakers to a 117-107 Game 5 win that sealed the series on Saturday night. He finished with a 38-point, 16-rebound, 10-assist triple-double and was supported by a 27-point performance by Anthony Davis, who also made a highlight reel defensive play when he blocked Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr's attempted shot at the rim.
Speaking on TNT's Inside The NBA, Hall of Famer O'Neal said: "This is no surprise. (At the start of the playoffs) we expected the Lakers or Clippers (to win the Western Conference). The Lakers are doing what they are supposed to be doing.
"I am really happy for the Lakers organisation. We all lost a good man (Kobe Bryant) this year. It is good for the organisation (to reach the Finals), especially if they can win it.
"I liked how, during the trophy presentation, LeBron was standing at the back. He is not happy, he wants to win (the Finals). It's his 10th time going to the Finals. To be able to come to LA, bring 'AD', to bring the city back together and to win the championship, that will be a phenomenal accomplishment.
"They will sit back and celebrate knowing they will play either Boston or Miami. Something tells me they want the Miami Heat."
O'Neal's Inside colleague Charles Barkley agreed with O'Neal's analysis.
"We have known all along LeBron is one of the best to ever do it. Anthony Davis is in full bloom right now. We said it before the playoffs started: if AD does his thing, it is going to be tough for anyone to beat the Lakers," he said.
TNT analyst Kenny Smith admitted he had concerns about the Lakers' championship credentials when play first resumed in the NBA's Orlando bubble, especially given their lacklustre performances in the eight seeding games before the playoffs commenced.
"A great player with a great team, that's the recipe," he said. "There was concern after the eight (seeding) games. Could they not be playing at their best and just 'turn it on' when the playoffs started?
"What they did over the course of the playoffs is that the ball wasn't in so many peoples' hands. It started to become more and more LeBron and AD then (Rajon) infiltrating into everyone else. I wasn't 100 per cent sure they would get there."
Speaking on NBA TV, O'Neal's former Orlando Magic team-mate Dennis Scott showered praise on James and Davis following the Lakers' series win, calling their playoff run a "perfect story".
"Ten out his 17 years (in the league), he has been to the promised land and given his team a chance to win the Larry O'Brien trophy. Here he is again, LeBron James, trying to win another ring for his legacy," he said.
"(Davis') block on Porter Jr let me know AD reverted back to his roots. That is one of the best defensive players in our game. Making plays like that gave LeBron James the opportunity to close out the ball game. If AD plays the way he did tonight, there is no one on the Boston Celtics or Miami Heat who can handle him. And LeBron just showed you once again he can finish out a series for his ball club.
"To see AD step up and follow LeBron's lead, LeBron giving him room all season long to be who he needed him to be, it has been a perfect story so far. Can these guys now finish it off?"
