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Basketball Wager
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By Richard Manning, Jr.
When Shaquille O’Neal filled the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards, it was
evident that he was missing several things. Gone was the specter of Kobe
Bryant’s selfishness. Gone was the surly summertime attitude, which was
typically brought on because of Kobe-related questions aimed his way. Gone was
24 pounds of excess that Los Angeles Lakers fans had grown to accept as a
staple to their team’s former center come training camp. All these losses have
left Shaq looking rejuvenated and relaxed, but don’t let that fool you. Shaq is
still one angry man; bitter from the divorce he had with the Lakers, upset at
the handful of teams that expressed interest yet hardly dangled anything in
worthy trade value, and ticked off that he lost the NBA Finals. And he’s
looking for vengeance.
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Which is why the Miami Heat being 11/1 favorites to with the 2004-05 NBA Finals
is a steal.
Think about it: The Heat advanced to the second round of an Eastern Conference
that was weak with the exception of the champion Detroit Pistons. The only
things that prevented Dwayne Wade from winning rookie of the year were a couple
of guys named James and Anthony. Eddie Jones is the consummate team player.
Keyon Dooling and Udonis Hanselm are young, talented players who are lacking in
egocentric attitudes. In short, they are a fresh, unspoiled team that needed
the right personnel to put them over the top. Enter Shaq, and he is none too
happy about things in NBA land these days. The only opponent from the East that
can give the Heat a run for their money is the Pistons, and if you recall, Shaq
was the one Laker starter who didn’t embarrass himself during the Finals. Plus,
the Heat does not have a Kobe-type player on their team. That is, there is
nobody on the roster that is under the false impression that he could
single-handedly defeat the quintet of defenders on the court. As far as the
West goes, keep these things in mind: He still has no love lost for the
Sacramento Kings; the Dallas Mavericks didn’t think Dirk Nowitzki was a fair
trade off for him; he’s got some sort of issue with the Lakers. Stories like
that are guaranteed to fuel the Diesel.
If you are still not convinced that placing money on a Heat championship at
11/1 odds is a good idea, then I don’t know what to tell you. Except don’t let
Shaq know. That may make him even angrier.
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