Cavs beat Wizards, 102-90 - Shaq Finally Makes an Impact
November 4th, 2009 at 12:47 am by Displaced Cleveland Fan
The off-season trade to bring Shaquille O’Neal to Cleveland was huge. Take a 66-win team that fell just short of the NBA Finals and add a future hall of famer like Shaq, and you have one very dangerous team.
On paper.
As everyone should expect, there will be some period of adjustment as the players and coaches learn how to utilize Shaq and as he learns his new role on the team. Through four games, he was off to a mediocre start. But it couldn’t stay mediocre forever. Eventually he would start making an impact.
That night was tonight against the Wizards.
Shaq came in averaging only 9 points per game. Tonight he scored a season-high 21 points, along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. He may yet have some below average games coming up. But it’s nice to see a game like this early on to serve as a reminder that a 37 year old Shaquille O’Neal can still cause problems to opposing teams.
There was a bit of bad news today prior to the game. Delonte West was indicted on a handful of weapons charges and traffic violations from his September 17th traffic stop in Maryland. We’ll see how this story develops. West did play tonight, contributing with 4 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals in 21 minutes off the bench.
-dcf
Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Delonte West, Shaquille O'Neal, Washington Wizards
