Even though the feud between Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant seems to be a thing of the past, the fact that Shaq is on the court whenever the Lakers face the Phoenix Suns always adds a little extra excitement to the matchup. As it turns out though, Shaq may miss this week's trip to L.A. due to one of two reasons. Janis Carr of the OC Register explains one possibility:
Forget watching Shaq bumble his way through the Lakers defense, listening for one of his famous “quotations” or catching a glimpse of one of his monster dunks that used to rule in Staples Center. He might not be coming.
Shaquille O’Neal is questionable for Wednesday’s game against the Lakers on Wednesday after his great-grandmother died. Cillar O’Neal, 92, helped raise Shaq.
That bit of sad news would be enough for Shaq to skip the game, but there's another, more basketball-related reason that he could miss it as well.
Suns' coach Terry Porter has chosen to hold Shaq out of back-to-back games this season, and with a home game against the Milwaukee Bucks this evening, it's unclear at this point whether or not he'll be in the lineup. With the Suns looking to build on Saturday's win over the Jazz, they may decide to play Shaq tonight and not take any chances. Because whether he plays in L.A. or not, the Lakers will be heavy favorites to continue their winning ways.
