Early in last night’s 110-102 victory over the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder, Steve Nash had to depart for the 2nd time this season due to back spasms. This usually spells certain doom for the Phoenix Suns. However on this night things were different than the usual Suns over the years. 36 year old Shaquille O’Neal shouldered the load and simply dominated the undermanned front line of the Thunder. The Big Cactus lead the way with 28 points on 10-12 shooting from the field and 8-12 from the free throw line.

Over the past two weeks, Shaq has delivered some interesting quotes:

“I could average 27 and 10 in this league easily,” O’Neal said. “Easily. In this conference, in this league, easily. Eyes closed.” “I can but I’ve got to get the opportunities. I’m not really the first option on this team but when I get it down there, I’ll do what I do. Like I told everybody, ‘You want me to be Shaq?’ Then I’ve got to get the Shaq touches and Shaq opportunities. I just can’t be taking five shots . . . and then you look at me like I’m old. I could average 27 and 10 until I’m 50.”

These type of quotes are why Shaquille O’Neal will be sorely missed from the NBA upon his retirement. Regardless of the fact if you love him or hate him; his personality creates entertainment without showing up in the daily news for committing a crime or criticizing a teammate. Suns Head Coach Terry Porter’s strategy of resting Shaq on back to back games has been widely criticized, however come playoff time if Shaq can continue to play at dare I say an All-Star caliber level (16.9 PPG and 8.8 RPG), watch out Western Conference!

Suns Notes: Alando Tucker was sent to the Phoenix Suns NBDL affiliate The Iowa Energy. He will play 2 games there and then replace Goran Dragic on the active roster. Dragic will be sent to the NBDL to continue to work on his game. Tucker scored 13 points and had 6 rebounds in his first appearance with the Energy.