Ever since entering the playoffs, O'Neal seems to have rediscovered his dominance in the paint.

In the first round of the playoffs, he averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, with a field goal percentage as high as 60%.

In fact, if not for his free throw percentage being only 40% and his average shot attempts being just 14 times per game during this series, his efficiency might not have fallen short of his Lakers days.

Despite, in O'Neal's eyes, that darn farmer Riley constantly insulting and criticizing him...

He did benefit from more rest time due to playing only 59 games in the regular season because of "injury".

The only downside was, what if Riley didn't insist on him losing weight, forcing him onto the treadmill and stopping him from eating sweets?

O'Neal's splendid playoff journey continued.

In the Eastern Conference semifinals, he averaged 19 points and 7 rebounds for the Heat; aside from a less-than-ideal free throw percentage (38.6%), his overall efficiency remained impressive, second only to Wade among scorers in the semifinals for the Heat.

O'Neal really liked Wade.

Especially when compared to Hardaway and Kobe.

Not only did Wade share more common ground with him, this star guard who formally entered the peak phase of his career this season, was far more considerate than Hardaway and Kobe.

Although Wade is already recognized as the unquestionable leader of the Heat, in public he still refers to himself as "Big Brother", which greatly pleases O'Neal, who is in the twilight of his career.

Also on the court, Wade always dishes out those "simple passes" that, even if Kobe had done previously, O'Neal had long forgotten them.

These "simple passes" greatly enhanced O'Neal's efficiency on the court and made him less resistant to setting picks for Wade at the high post.

Because in O'Neal's view, Wade would never just rise and shoot like that "snake" after he worked hard to set a screen for him.

Up to the three playoff rounds that the Heat have fought, Wade's highest average attempts per round were only 19 times.

Even though Wade, as the Head of the Family of the Heat, could have recklessly used his shots on the court, the "Flash" was more of a team player than that "snake", never ignoring his teammates.

"'D-Wade' is truly the most outstanding guard I've worked with."

In an interview, O'Neal has more than once expressed through the media his admiration for Wade to the world.

So, with this fondness for Wade...

In this year's Eastern Conference Finals, O'Neal teamed up with Wade to crush the Pistons.

Crushed the team that successfully prevented the Lakers from winning the championship in the 03/04 season and indirectly caused the split of the "OK" duo.

Compared to the culprit who led to the Lakers' defeat in the 04 Finals in O'Neal's eyes, Wade in this year's Eastern Conference Finals shot over 60% overall at will against the Pistons' prized defense.

And O'Neal?

He too returned the trust of the Heat and Wade with an impressive performance, averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds with a field goal percentage as high as 65%, except for his free throw percentage which remains ever-consistent (41.7%).

Undoubtedly, this year's Eastern Conference Finals is definitely one of O'Neal's most wonderful moments in recent years.

"Working with 'D-Wade', you might even have to urge him to be aggressive. Once I saw he was in the zone, so I asked him, 'Hey, man, why don't you take a few more shots?'

Do you know how 'D-Wade' answered me then? He said, 'Nah, Shaq, I've already performed perfectly, and I also want my teammates to share in my joy.'

This is 'D-Wade', I wouldn't say he is the best shooting guard in the league today, but it's absolutely true."

After joining hands with Wade to advance to the Finals, the entire basketball world fully felt how happy O'Neal is playing for the Miami Heat.

This Heat team has an excellent atmosphere.

Because they have gathered a group of like-minded veterans who all want to fulfill their dream with a championship ring.

They not only equipped Wade and O'Neal with championship puzzles like Antoine Walker, James Posey, and "White Chocolate" Williams to provide court spacing.

But also inside, the always diligent Haslem and Moning greatly reduced O'Neal's defensive workload.

However, after watching the Heat's Eastern Conference semifinals footage this year...

Qin Yue and the Warriors players, had never felt for a moment... like they were about to become members of the NBA champions.

As the 2006 NBA champions in history, was this Heat team a flawless team?

Certainly not.

If they were truly perfect...

Then they wouldn't even need Wade to rely on his relentless drives and body contacts to earn an average of 16.2 free throws per game to smooth over the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals that year.

In the Eastern Conference semifinals, facing the Nets, the Heat had already exposed their weaknesses to the world.

As O'Neal's worst series performance since entering the playoffs this year, it's worth mentioning that this Eastern Conference semifinals was also the series with the least average playing time for O'Neal.

As for the reason?

"They couldn't even deal with Nenad Krstic?"

In the video analysis room, "Champion Scholar" Brown was shocked while reviewing the footage with his teammates.

Nenad Krstic.

A clearing-type inside player whose career long two-point shot attempts account for over a third.

Due to Krstic's over 40% long two-point shot success rate this season, he thus became a nightmare for O'Neal during matches against the Nets.

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