Editing Shaquille O'Neal (section)

====Surgery and Wade's injury (2006–2007)====
In the {{NBA Year|2006|app=season}}, O'Neal missed 35 games after an injury to his left knee in November required surgery.<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=261117014
| title = Knicks take advantage of Shaq-less heat with blowout
| quote = Starting with Shaquille O'Neal's left knee, the Miami Heat are hurting.
| date = November 17, 2006
| work = ESPN
| agency = Associated Press
| access-date = November 10, 2010
| archive-date = November 5, 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121105213510/http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=261117014
| url-status = dead
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| url = http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=270124011
| title = Shaq, Wade return in Heat's OT loss to Pacers
| quote = O'Neal, who came off the bench after missing 35 games while recovering from knee surgery, finished with five points and five rebounds in 14 minutes.
| date = January 24, 2007
| work = ESPN
| agency = Associated Press
| access-date = November 10, 2010
| archive-date = November 5, 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121105213519/http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=270124011
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> After one of those missed games, a Christmas Day match-up against the Lakers, he ripped Jackson, who O'Neal had once called a second father, referring to his former coach as "[[Benedict Arnold]]". Jackson had previously said, "The only person I've ever [coached] that hasn't been a worker... is probably Shaq."<ref>{{cite news 
 |url=http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/16357098/ 
 |title=Shaq rips Jackson as 'Benedict Arnold' 
 |quote="How can Benedict Arnold be reliable in what he says?" O'Neal said Monday after the Miami Heat's 101–85 victory over the Lakers, the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported. 
 |date=December 26, 2006 |publisher=NBC Sports 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110315213209/http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/16357098
 |archive-date=March 15, 2011 |access-date=November 12, 2010 
 }}</ref> The Heat struggled during O'Neal's absence,<ref name="HeatHistory">{{cite web |url=http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/miami/heat.html |title=Miami Heat – Sports Ecyclopedia |website=www.sportsecyclopedia.com |access-date=June 17, 2015 |archive-date=May 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509112905/http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/miami/heat.html |url-status=live }}</ref> but with his return won seven of their next eight games. Bad luck still haunted the squad, however, as Wade dislocated his left shoulder, leaving O'Neal as the focus of the team.<ref name="HeatHistory"/> Critics doubted that O'Neal, now in his mid-30s, could carry the team into the playoffs.<ref>Thorpe, David. (March 3, 2007). [https://insider.espn.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=thorpe_david&page=ScoutingShaq "Scouting breakdown: Can Shaq carry the Heat?"] . Retrieved June 17, 2015.</ref> The Heat went on a winning streak that kept them in the race for a playoff spot, which they finally secured against the [[Cleveland Cavaliers]] on April 5.<ref name="HeatHistory"/>

In a rematch of the previous year, the Heat faced the Bulls in the first round of the 2006–07 NBA playoffs. The Heat struggled against the Bulls and although O'Neal put up reasonable numbers, he was not able to dominate the series. The Bulls swept the Heat, the first time in 50&nbsp;years a defending NBA champion was swept in the opening round.<ref>[[#oneal2011|O'Neal, MacMullan 2011]], p. 206.</ref> It was the first time in 13 years that O'Neal did not advance into the second round. In the 2006–07 season O'Neal reached 25,000 career points, becoming the 14th player in NBA history to accomplish that milestone. However, it was the first season in O'Neal's career that his scoring average dropped below 20&nbsp;points per game.<ref name=brstats/>