Shaquille O’Neal shares absurd explanation on why the Warriors lost to the Miami Heat

The Golden State Warriors had been on a hot streak in recent weeks, racking up victories that allowed them to climb the standings in the Western Conference. However, in the last few days, they suffered two consecutive losses, with the most recent one coming at the hands of the Miami Heat. NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal offered a potential explanation for what happened in Florida.

“It’s hard to hold a grudge for five days in a place like Miami,” O’Neal said on TNT, implying that Jimmy Butler came to the city intending to teach his former team a lesson, but he and his teammates spent too much time enjoying themselves and lost focus. “They just had too much fun in Miami.”

Reflecting on what those days in Florida might have been like, Shaq considered: “If I arrive on a Monday and we play on Tuesday, I’m still upset. But you arrive, you go to your house. You’re at Prime 112. Get on the boat. Steve (Kerr) is a player’s coach. He’s going to give you two days off. You’re chilling. And then you come back.”

The former center, who won an NBA Championship with the Heat in 2006, also spoke specifically about Butler. “Jimmy wanted to play great, but listen, it just — obviously they were flat,” he said. “Now, when you’re a great player, no excuses count. You know we’re not going to use that as an excuse. But we know what’s going on. Five days in Miami. Concentration is at zero. Period.”

Candace Parker offers another possible explanation

After hearing the opinion of her co-host Shaquille O’Neal, WNBA legend Candace Parker offered another possible reason, perhaps a more logical one, for the Golden State Warriors‘ poor performance against the Miami Heat: the absence of their best player, Stephen Curry.

“They have the worst offensive efficiency in the league without Steph Curry on the floor,” Parker explained. “So I think Steph not playing impacts it all. They need him to get right and get healthy.”

The loss in Miami proved costly for the Warriors

The back-to-back losses to the Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat not only halted the Golden State Warriors’ impressive run, which had seen them win 9 out of their last 10 NBA games, but they also caused them to lose their grip on the sixth seed.

The Warriors had reached that crucial spot, which guarantees direct entry into the playoffs, but this week they dropped a position in the Western Conference standings. As things stand, they would now need to compete in the Play-In Tournament. The team that took their place was the Los Angeles Clippers, led by James Harden and an increasingly healthy Kawhi Leonard.