At Least One Of Shaq's Physical Assets Remains In Perfect Working Order

That would be his mouth.

As the Boston Globe reports, Shaq is quite the booster of his new companion in the front court:

"Amare Stoudemire is the best big man in the game right now -- period, bar none," O'Neal said. "I didn't know he was that good. But talking to him and watching him play, he's the best big man in the game at 25, and I mean that. I'm not just saying that to pump him up."

The internal debate is on as to whether to be impressed with Shaq for having reached a point at which he can admit that there are better interior players than himself out there, or to be bemused at the apparent lack of perspective shown here.

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Eh, we're going with the typical bemusement with Shaq.  Seems like it would have been nice for the Big Fella to demonstrate some cognizance of the fact that the game is played at two ends of the floor.  Sure, word out of Phoenix is that the one they call Stat has picked up his defensive intensity since the Shaq trade occurred, but the fact remains that he has a long way to go before he becomes a fully complete player.  It's a tribute to Stoudemire's offensive potency that he can rightfully be considered an excellent basketball player, despite his other deficiencies.  That said, he isn't the best big man in basketball.  Just isn't the case as of now.

Nice effort by Shaq to perhaps poke at the Beantown big man from who spent most of Friday evening rough-housing with Stoudemire.

The best way Shaq's mouth will be an asset to the Suns moving forward is if he calls out screens and rotations on defense.