Shaquille O’Neal is a rich man, but he became even richer after Game 2 of the first-round series between two of his former teams, the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, on Wednesday night. Before the game, Shaq predicted that Miami would beat Boston by 10 points and bet against Charles Barkley. At halftime, the legendary NBA big man doubled his bet, which turned out to be a good business decision because the Heat knocked out Boston in Beantown, 111-101, just as Shaq predicted. Here’s how “Shaqstradamus” came about..
Just call him Shaqstradamus 🔮 @SHAQ https://t.co/rmWqBudGP0 pic.twitter.com/zdauNd0c4n
– NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 25, 2024
The Heat were underdogs by about 14 points in Wednesday’s game but not by “Shaqstradamus.” They were defeated by the Celtics in Game 1 by 20 points (114-94) and are still without their leader and best player of the season, Jimmy Butler, due to a lower body injury. Most clues point to another big Celtics win in Game 2, hence the wide betting edge. However, the Heat proved once again that they are a tough team to eliminate in the playoffs. Even without Butler, Miami operated fearlessly on the hardwood.
Tyler Herro bounced back from his bad performance in the series opener and scored 24 points in Game 2, shooting 7/13 from the field and making all four of his attempts from behind the arc. In addition, Herro dished out 14 points to sustain the pace of Miami’s offense even when not scoring. Bam Adebayo also stepped up, dominating the matchup with Kristaps Porzingis with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds.
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