Hassan Whiteside claps back at Shaq, weighs in on dis tracks

Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley dug into the Portland Trail Blazers’ Hassan Whiteside during TNT’s halftime show on Thursday night. Apparently, 1-for-7 from the field in the first half doesn’t impress the NBA Hall of Famers.

When asked about it postgame, the 30-year-old center fired back at O’Neal.

“I expect Shaq to dis,” Whiteside said. “Dame killed him in a rap battle. We ain’t going to hear anything positive from Shaq ever again.”

The rap battle Whiteside referred dates back to early October when O’Neal and Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard exchanged dis tracks. They went back and forth with tracks, but consensus had Lillard in the winner’s circle.

Whiteside, Lillard’s teammate, not only was the latest Trail Blazer to go in on O’Neal, but he also proved the announcer’s halftime analysis wrong. Whiteside finished Portland’s 107-101 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers with 17 points and 19 rebounds, the type of numbers even Barkely and O’Neal have to respect.

Whiteside played 27 minutes in Thursday night’s game and will see an increased role in the upcoming weeks as injuries plague the Trail Blazers. Center Zach Collins is out at least four months following shoulder surgery this past week, and center Jusuf Nurkic is still out indefinitely due to a leg injury suffered last March.

November 7, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside (21) controls the ball against Los Angeles Clippers forward Montrezl Harrell (5) during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Blazers center Hassan Whiteside (21) controls the ball against Clippers forward Montrezl Harrell on Thursday at Staples Center. (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

If Shaq wants to respond to a new critique from a Trail Blazer, he’ll have the opportunity on Nov. 21, when the Trail Blazers play on TNT against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Of course, O’Neal could always take to social media for a response. If he does, let’s just hope it once again includes a dancing Shaq doll (Warning: NSFW language below).

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