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Halftime saw the Nuggets leading 62-54 and Shaquille O’Neal savored it. After all, his favorite player was having a dominant night. Nikola Jokic was at 20 points against Kristap Porzingis‘ 16. The Joker figuratively ‘ate’ on the court today and left no crumbs. Enough for his opponent in the Celtics to look like a dish to Shaq.

“Chuck, I got two words for you,” Shaq told his buddy. “Latvian Lasagna.” That was what Latvian product, Kristaps Porzingis was looking while guarding Jokic today. O’Neal felt Jokic was so unguardable that he devoured his unicorn opponent like a whole meal.

Shaq didn’t see eye-to-eye with Charles Barkley regarding Jokic and Porzingis. Hence, O’Neal decided to “Roll the tape,” to prove his point. “He can’t guard that man, Chuck,” O’Neal referred to Porzingis versus Jokic. “Nobody can guard the Joker when he’s playing like this. Listen, Joker is the best big man in the league. Very smart, takes his time, plays on his own pace.” 

Barkley has been giving the Boston Celtics better odds since they added Porzingis to their lineup in the offseason. But according to Shaq, “Porzingis is supposed to beat him. But because he’s getting his Latvian Lasagna ate out – pause – you can’t do nothing with him.”

USA Today via Reuters

At the end of the game, Jokic was at 32 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds in 39 minutes. Porzingis was at 24 points, 2 assists and 12 rebounds in 35 minutes. Between the two, Shaq and Chuck have their own favorites. Interestingly, before Jokic and the Denver Nuggets won the 2023 NBA championship, he was not earning Shaq’s vote of confidence. He cooked up, “Slavic lasagna” to describe Jokic forgetting that he’s actually Serbian.

Chuck once again contradicts Shaquille O’Neal

While Shaquille O’Neal hinges on Jokic leading the Big Man Alliance, Charles Barkley has his money on the Celtics winning it all this year. Since they added Kristaps Porzingis to the lineup in the offseason, Barkley contends the Celtics roster is too strong to lose. He said that only a “total gag job“ would botch their chances to lose the 2023-24 title.

Contradicting Shaq’s “Latvian lasagna” theory, Barkley countered that the Celtics need more of Unicorn magic on the court. “I honestly think they should bring Porzingis off of the bench, personally,” Chuck said earning silence from Shaq, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson.

Charles Barkley’s “personal opinion” was not well-received by the NBA community. However, fans ate up Shaquille O’Neal’s “Latvian lasagna.” The joke is still expanding on social media. Who do you think ‘ate’ on the court between Shaq and Chuck’s faves.