He certainly has the numbers to back it up.

Over 36 career games against Dallas, O’Neal has averaged 29.3 points. That’s his most against any team and it’s tops of any player who has ever faced the Mavericks more than six times.

O’Neal also has been good for 12.2 rebounds per game against them, which ranks near the top of all Dallas foes while being only a half-board per game above his league-wide average.

Dooming as it all may sound, the stats come with a disclaimer:

Most were rung up against the likes of Shawn Bradley and other helpless defenders. Those guys may have had O’Neal’s height or bulk, but none had both – and many had neither.

The Mavericks are better equipped this time around, with a pure center tandem of DeSagana Diop and Erick Dampier. They won’t stop O’Neal, but Dallas coach Avery Johnson is hoping that together they might be able to slow the Diesel.

"You need bodies," Johnson said on Monday. "We’ve got two big bodies now."

The O’Neal-Dampier matchup comes with an interesting back story.

Two summers ago, when O’Neal was being shopped by the Los Angeles Lakers, the Mavericks dreamed of finally plugging their gaping hole in the middle by adding the ultimate big man. He liked the idea of going to Dallas, too, but the Lakers weren’t about to send him to a conference rival, so he wound up on the other coast. Dallas ended up lavishing a huge contract on Dampier.

Around that time, Dampier proclaimed himself the second-best center in the NBA behind O’Neal.

Whether those things were factors or not, Shaq began a war of words with Dampier the next time they met in Dallas. The Mavericks won a tight game, with Dampier forcing O’Neal into two late misses.

Afterward, O’Neal said: "Damp is soft. Quote it, write it, tape it and send it to him. I tell you, there’s nothing there."

Then, when Dampier struggled in the playoffs last year, O’Neal used him as a punch line, saying that a leg injury was causing him to play "like Erick Dampier."

O’Neal is taking the high road now, saying he was just messing around back then.

"He’s a good center, been playing well, him and Mr. Diop, they’ve been playing very well," O’Neal said. "We ain’t going to make this series about words. It’s two organizations that have never been there, two classy organizations. We’re going to do this the right way and just duke it out on the basketball court."

Dampier also would rather settle things under the basket instead of in print.

"I think that’s behind us now," he said. "We’re both trying to win a world championship. I don’t need any motivation. Just go out and play."