Now in the thick of the NBA Playoffs, the Inside the NBA crew presented a special edition of Shaqtin’ a Fool, where the guys spotlight some of the funniest moments around the league each week. Usually known for poking fun at specific humorous plays, only one of nominees focused on a single trip down the court. That doesn’t mean the segment was void of comedic surprises, though.
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Shaquille O’Neal highlighted four different names on this week’s Shaqtin’, starting with James Harden’s disastrous performance in yet another elimination game. Rather than pick out one blunder from Harden’s Game 7 disappearing act, his worst plays were put into a highlight reel, showing just how underwhelming Harden looked after an otherwise impressive campaign.
The segment also included jabs at Buddy Hield and Chet Holmgren, who both made different, but similarly boneheaded mistakes, especially this late into the season. Hield notably wore the wrong shorts with his uniform before torching the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1. Meanwhile, Holmgren missed an open dunk where the rim hilariously launched the ball back into the air.
The true surprise of the show, though, came with the third nominee. Rather than make fun of a player who took the court this week, Shaq named his cohost Kenny Smith as the next candidate.
Known for his frequent races to the big board with Charles Barkley, Smith displayed how much his time in the league had broken down his body. Despite boasting a marginal lead over Chuck, he still managed to lose their most recent race.
Smith was shocked when he saw his name come up on the board, but Shaq quickly explained. “Kenny blew a lead so bad you thought he played for the Celtics. Get back in the lab, Kenneth,” the four-time champion joked about the race. “I wasn’t beaten, I gave up,” Ernie Johnson mocked Smith’s defense.
Shaq’s priority in this edition of Shaqtin’ was clearly to catch his friend and cohost off guard. But the Hall of Famer couldn’t help but include a jab at the Boston Celtics in the process – and for good reason. After nonchalantly escaping the Orlando Magic in five games, everything has gone wrong for Boston so far in their second-round matchup.
The Celtics have not only dug themselves into an 0-2 hole against the New York Knicks, but they did so in disastrous fashion. Boston was cruising in both of their home games, boasting a 20-point lead late in the third quarter of both contests. It was the team’s over-reliance on threes and lack of counter-play that ended up opening an opportunity for the Knicks to storm back – and they took it.
Boston now heads to Madison Square Garden, where they’ll have to win at least one to avoid a completely unpredicted four-game sweep. Crazier comebacks have have happened, but this season will be remembered as an abject failure if they’re unable to even reach the Eastern Conference Finals after winning a championship.
