And So It All Comes Down to Shaq...or lack therof

[LilRip]

even if Shaq doesn't score, his presence is a threat. you can't leave him open underneath (like you can Krstic or BBD or even JO). As weird as it sounds, Shaq will open up the floor by clogging the paint.

[Q_FBE]

Shaq can't make much of a difference at this point except be a morale booster for providing short productive stints. If he comes back and gets a miracle double double and sparks the Celtics to Games 3 nd 4 win that would be a nice story to tell.

[GreenEnvy]

I don't think Shaq is our savior, but he can help us tremendously. It's like HCA. We can win without it, but it sure would be nice to have.

He will definitely make our lives a lot easier.


Seeya Saturday Big Shamrock!

[PosImpos]

Shaq from earlier this season would have helped us to be 2-0 at this point, in my opinion.  He'd give us that inside presence the team is sorely lacking right now.

Without him, we rely far too much on outside shooting and we don't have the same kind of tough defense and slashers to make up for it (as we did last year).

I think it's fair to say, however, that Danny made a mistake in expecting that Shaq would be healthy and productive during the playoffs in the same way he was at the beginning of the season.  Earlier in the season when Shaq was giving us 12 points and 5 rebounds a night, this was the best team in the league.  Without him, our starting lineup just isn't talented enough anymore to cut it against teams with the ability to drive the lane, draw contact, and score inside.  But Danny should have known that a 39 year old 300 lb center would most likely not be able to give us that kind of production after a 82 game season.

[MG1]

So, now it comes to it. We've watched Boston attempt to play offense without Shaq for 2 months of the regular season and through the playoffs.

The team's ability to execute an efficient, championship-caliber offense has been completely tied to "the Big Calf-Strain" all season and now its more evident than ever that this team just cannot perform offensively without his presence.

Boston was shooting 52% as a team at the time Shaq went down with his initial injury. Since that time they've slowly ground down into an almost exclusively perimeter-oriented team with very little inside/outside offense to speak of.

Through two games vs. Miami, we have seen a team that can be effective defensively and play at a level needed to provide opportunities to take control of both games. However, the problem remains their complete lack of offense.

We can credit the Heat defensively all we want, they're good and that's fine. But the fact remains that quality championship basketball requires an interior presence. Without making the Heat's defense work inside-to-out, Miami's perimeter defenders are simply sitting on Pierce and Allen and forcing them to do everything off the dribble.

The team doesn't feed anyone in the post and won't do so unless Shaq re-emerges from his absence and puts his big butt down on the block to command attention.

If he doesn't, it is likely going to mean a 4 or 5 game series against Miami, which is unfortunate because this team was truly the best in basketball when Shaq was anchoring the 5 and drawing defensive attention away from the perimeter.

Sad way to go down if it does...its not representative of what this team is capable of with their true starting unit...but that's the way it goes...

[GrandTheftRondo]

If Danny had to do it over again, with the lockout looming (since the C's title window will certainly be closed after that), does he do the Perkins trade again?

Actually this look on Danny's face from last night tells me all I need to know.

[Assassin70]

Cmon Shaq make us proud I still have hope!