Shaquille O'Neal returned to Cleveland to a warm reception at The Q.
Shaquille O'Neal is a little too big for Anderson Varejao to tap the ball away during the first quarter of Wednesday night's game at The Q. O'Neal had just seven points and two rebounds as the Celtics fell to the Cavaliers, 95-87.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Shaquille O'Neal's time in Cleveland was brief. But it was enough to not only earn him the respect of Cavaliers fans, but also grant him an understanding into how they felt after his one season with LeBron James ended with a disappointing playoff loss to the Boston team he now plays for.
O'Neal trotted onto the court at The Q on Wednesday night to a chorus of boisterous cheers from fans who wanted to show appreciation for the 53 games the 7-1 center played in Cleveland last season.
O'Neal, of course, wasn't surprised at the warm reception -- even if he now plays for the Celtics.
"I think the people know when I came I was ready," O'Neal said. "I think they respected my hard work."
As one who calls himself the Big Aristotle, O'Neal also has a philosophical understanding for how angrily local fans reacted to James' departure to Miami. O'Neal said he was so shocked at James' decision that he didn't believe it at first – "I thought he was coming back," he said -- but doesn't want to say anyone was right or wrong.
"The thing about the human mind is everyone has their own opinion," O'Neal said. "Sometimes you can change it, sometimes you can't. There's 100 million people in this world, and everyone's going to have their opinion on how something should have been done, how something went down. I don't really have an opinion."
O'Neal does have an opinion on how the Cavaliers team that won 61 games in the regular season imploded against the Celtics in the Eastern semifinals. In O'Neal's unique way of sometimes issuing subtle digs, he admitted the Cavaliers unraveled.
"I think it was just one of those situations where we couldn't get it done," he said. "I've been on many teams like that, you win 50-60 games, locker room's good, crowd's good, but we just couldn't close it together at the end. Everything was great in the regular season. No problems, LeBron was great. We just ran up against a veteran team that wanted it more."
Had it ended differently, if James were still in Cleveland, there was a part of O'Neal that still would have relished an opportunity to win a championship for the Cavaliers.
"Yes, there was," he said. "I think [Cavaliers General Manager] Chris Grant handled his business accordingly and people have moved on. They did a great job of putting a team together here and I wish them well."