LA Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal shared the same stage during his career with Kobe Bryant and knows the qualities of Black Mamba. O’Neal knows how Bryant was able to get the best out of himself and delivered consistently for the Lakers.
Meanwhile, Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker has taken giant strides and has been a consistent performer for his team in the ongoing season. The Suns had earlier knocked out the LA Lakers by 4-2 and Booker had scored consistently in every match. In fact, Booker had scored a mammoth 47 points in the sixth game of the series against the Lakers.
It has been a similar story as the Suns have taken a 3-0 lead against Denver Nuggets in the conference semifinals and Booker has top-scored for his team in every match with 23, 18 and 28 points. The Suns won the third game of the series 116-102 as Booker scored 28 points.
Furthermore, the youngster has been averaging 27.1 ppg in the ongoing postseason in the eight matches he has played. Thus, he is playing at a different level altogether.
O’Neal added that Booker needs to be aggressive in his game and compared him with Kobe Bryant.
He detailed, “Devin Booker, we know what you did, we saw you spotted Mitchell last night. Hey. Let’s see if you can match it. We need you to be aggressive, we need you to get buckets. Remember last year when you hit 70 at Boston, the world knows you can get buckets. Reggie said it was Kobe Bryant like, and I agree with him. So Devin Booker needs to be aggressive.”
O’Neal also heaped praise on Chris Paul, who had scored a 21-point double-double in the first game, added 27 points. Paul has also done a fine job for the Suns.
Shaquille O’Neal said, “Chris Paul, he is the best at getting people involved. I’ve had that opportunity to play with great point guards, nobody does it better than Chris Paul. He has the ability to get himself going like the guards with era. But he says you know what, I’m a great player, let me get these guys involved. We’re at home, guys play a little bit better at home… look-away pass, let me get them going.”
The fourth game of the series between Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets will be played on Sunday night.
