I tracked every one of Shaq's playoff games from his Magic tenure (36 in all) and here is the data.
Like with Jordan previously, I also compiled his career totals. He is now the second player before the PBP era for whom we have the entire playoff career plus minus.
IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Offense
Unlike many great bigs in NBA history that had a mix of solid offensive and solid defensive impact (aka two-way bigs), Orlando Shaq was an offensive monster and the data support it in a big way. Across the eight series played, the Magic offenses were astonishingly dominant with Shaq on the court.
rORtg with Shaq ON/Shaq OFF
1994 IND: +3.3/-12.0
1995 BOS: +0.4/+11.9
1995 CHI: +10.4/+2.7
1995 IND: +17.0/+8.1
1995 HOU: +4.4/-18.1
1996 DET: +19.5/+16.1
1996 ATL: +20.8/-3.4
1996 CHI: +0.8/-29.5
Average: +9.6/-3.0
He was a load to handle down low and the defensive work began before he ever got the ball. The defense had a major job to do to prevent him from getting deep post position. If Shaq set up within 8 feet of the basket, it was basically over. He would get the basket and/or get fouled if the foolish defender tried to stop him once he went up. His touch, footwork, and the nasty spin moves and up and unders were just insane for a man that big. And you had to box him out because he could just destroy you on the offensive glass. Most teams doubled him when he caught the ball but he was a very good passer that could hit shooters for open threes but was even adept at finding cutters. His best passes were one handed bullets to cutters than ended up as layups or free throws for teammates. I consider him a very good passer in 1995 and 1996.
Shaq as a Laker improved even more as a passer and was able to make reads faster and punish double teams a bit more ruthlessly. This would help against elite defenses like the 1996 Bulls which were able to stymie Orlando's offense (Orlando only had a only +0.8 rORtg with Shaq on the court) by very quickly double-teaming and recovering after he passed the ball. The quickness of Harper/Jordan/Pippen is something most teams don't have and these guys were forcing Shaq into quite a few turnovers and broke up Orlando's plays afterwards as shooters didn't get their normally open looks. Slightly quicker reads could make a lot of difference.
Defense
While ability to captain GOAT-level offense is pretty evident from the data, pinpointing his defensive impact carries much more uncertainty. The Magic defense was inconsistent and mostly below league average for the majority of the eight series. Negative numbers are good and positive numbers are bad.
rDRtg with Shaq ON/Shaq OFF
1994 IND: +2.4/+15.1
1995 BOS: -11.3/-0.6
1995 CHI: +2.9/+2.9
1995 IND: +7.3/+18.1
1995 HOU: +5.5/+27.2
1996 DET: +2.7/-5.7
1996 ATL: -0.1/+11.9
1996 CHI: -1.1/+42.7
Average: +1.0/+14.0
On one hand the defenses with Shaq being below league average by a point is strong indication that he is not an elite defensive anchor. On the other hand, the teams completely collapsing on defense without him suggest that he did likely provide at least some lift on that end.
Shaq did offer plenty of intimidation. When settled under the rim, penetrators would rarely challenge him so there was some deterrence at play. When he didn't have to move laterally, his athleticism allowed him to contest shots effectively at the rim. His verticality was excellent. In terms of individual post defense, he was fantastic and this is in my opinion his biggest strength defensively. In the 1995 Finals in particular, he did a terrific job defending Hakeem Olajuwon in the post. Hakeem's methodical attack rarely worked on Shaq who rarely jumped and simply used his superior vertical reach to bother Hakeem's shots. When trying to face him up further from the basket, Hakeem had more success as he blew by Shaq a few times (300 lbs --> slow feet) but that consumed more energy and was only an occasional strategy.
In terms of weaknesses, the main problem was excessive fouling. He gave up a ton of points by committing at times stupid hip check fouls (hoping the ref wouldn't notice?) and at the same time removing himself from the game. Shaq had 4 or more fouls in 21/36 (58%) of playoff games between 1994-1996 resulting in reduced minutes on the court which ate away at his impact. In latter years in LA, this is one era he cleaned up. During the threepeat years from 2000-2002, Shaq only had 4 or more fouls in 22/58 (38%) of playoff games. In Orlando, he also displayed poor awareness often, either failing to rotate or deciding to leave the paint and defend someone on the perimeter where he would get promptly beat off the dribble and the other team getting an uncontested rim finish. In the regular season, Orlando defenses actually fared better but in the postseason, these weaknesses of Shaq were exploited more aggressively by opposing coaches.
The sideburns confused or distracted opponents in 1994 though their actual effectiveness is disputed.
(edit: except for his rookie year regular season).
