The one reason Shaq sees the Warriors as a dark horse in the West

The Golden State Warriors are 11-5 over the last 30 days, but few are picking them to unseat the West's top seeds in the upcoming NBA playoffs. Despite their late-season resurgence, the Warriors have the 14th-shortest odds (+5000) to win this year's NBA title.

Shaquille O'Neal, though, isn't willing to bet against the heart of a champion. The four-time NBA champion has seen enough over the past month to pronounce Steve Kerr's team as his sleeper heading into the playoffs.

On the latest episode of the "Big Podcast," O'Neal said he foresees the Warriors escaping the play-in tournament and making a deep postseason run. But his reason for believing in the Warriors isn't the obvious one.

"It's hard to bet against Steph Curry, right?" asked O'Neal's podcast host.

"But it's not him – Klay Thompson," O'Neal responded. "From a guy like that, all I need is two games. Everybody's gonna do what they do, but if you get two Klay games. What I respect and love about Klay is he has no punk. Dogs – when you have them in the corner – they [wince]. But when they get tired, they bite. Right now, everybody's killing him and questioning him. When everybody's counting him out..."

To Shaq's point, Thompson has been critical to Golden State's recent resurgence. Over his last 15 games, he is averaging 20.1 points at 41% from three. Before the All-Star break, he logged 17.3 points at 37% shooting from deep. Thompson has found his stroke again.  

Could Thompson and Golden State prove Shaq right?

They definitely have a tall task ahead. As the 10th seed, the Warriors are currently projected to be in a 9 vs. 10 play-in game against the Los Angeles Lakers. But they could climb the standings if the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns endure two losses each to close the season, while they win their final three.  

If Golden State can jump to the seventh or eighth seed, its chances of proving Shaq right increase considerably.