It seems like for the last day all I have heard about is how much worse off the Phoenix Suns will be now that they have acquired Shaquille O’Neal from the Miami Heat. Even our own Sportable writer Ryan doesn’t like the move. I absolutely understand where all the doubt and the judgment is coming from. The Suns tend to play a run and gun style of offense, a high tempo game that doesn’t appear to sit well with the Diesel’s style of play. But who is to say that there can’t be a role for Shaq in that system?

Why can’t Shaq be the one who grabs the rebound and starts the fast break? I can’t really remember the last time I have seen all five players on the court needed to run a fast break. Shaq just needs to grab the ball and fire it off to Nash or one of the other weapons that are still going to be there to get the break going. And if the Suns can’t get that break running then Shaq can just come rumbling down the court and dominate in the half court offense as we have seen him do in the past.

Beyond Shaq fitting in, there is of course the fact that he is old and his body cant necessarily take the wear and tear that it used to. This is where the way the NBA is set up really helps the Suns. To make the playoffs in the NBA you just have to be somewhat decent, there is no doubt that this Suns team is good enough to make the playoffs. That means they aren’t going to need Shaq to be contributing 40 minutes a night for the rest of the year. They are going to be able to use that time to let Shaq get healthy again and ease his way back into good shape by playing 20 or so minutes a game. Remember they still have Boris Diaw and Amare Stoudemire who can contribute and play the center position for a good amount of time to give Shaq the rest he needs to be geared up.

Finally, and perhaps the most important reason why I think that Shaq will succeed in Phoenix, is his will. When Shaq wants to do something, he is going to do it, its about as simple as that. I think the telling moment of that came during his press conference when he said something along the lines of, when I get angry things happen, things like winning a championship. This drew a laugh from the media members assembled, but I look at deeper than just a joke. Shaq really will be pissed by everyone saying this is the end of the line for him, and that he can’t hack it anymore, that the Suns made a mistake trading for him. He isn’t going to let that go lightly, he is going to want to win a championship, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him do exactly that.