The Age of Entitlement

Shaquille O’Neal joshes with the best of them, suggesting that he must know when he’s even bullshitting himself. Witness, for example, his assessment of the Heat’s chances of landing a top playoff seed. “We’re not going to get in one of those four spots,” O’Neal said after the likes of...

By Sam Eifling

January 10, 2008

[
        {
          "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
          "component": "16971022",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "15769925",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Rectangle 2x - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782206",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782207",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Shaquille O’Neal joshes with the best of them, suggesting that he must know when he’s even bullshitting himself. Witness, for example, his assessment of the Heat’s chances of landing a top playoff seed. “We’re not going to get in one of those four spots,” O’Neal said after the likes of Philadelphia had pasted the Heat and held him to just 5 points. “So we’ll play Boston, beat Boston and then be on our way.”

Yeah, right. First Dwyane Wade needs to stop leading the league in turnovers. Then Shaq’s gigantic body somehow heals in this, his 16th NBA season. It’s a terrible sign that he’s been nursing a bum hip after a bad spill. Granted, he hurt it diving for a loose ball, but still. He’s veering into unmistakable old-man territory. The only team in the NBA whose season has flat sucked as hard as Miami’s is the Chicago Bulls. After years of adding young players, Chicago was supposed to be mature enough, finally, to compete for a trip to the Finals. Instead it can’t shoot, can’t defend, and couldn’t keep its coach from getting fired on Christmas Eve. Those boys are either on their way up, or they’re stuck in the same basement as the Heat, who will happily welcome such a mess of a team to the American Airlines Arena (601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami) on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Tickets begin at $10. Call 786-777-4667, or visit www.heat.com.
Wed., Jan. 16, 2008

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of South Florida, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.