Shaq to start at Center as of now

[j804]

Shaq a Big surprise

Rivers said that his two biggest surprises in camp were Shaquille O’Neal and Nate Robinson. He said that each had a “phenomenal” camp, and then spoke quickly about each player.

You could tell that Rivers was overly pleased by the Shaq’s performance by listening to one simple sentence: “The last two days he’s been with the first team. Yup, that means Shaq has, at least to this point, supplanted Jermaine O'Neal as the team's starting center.

http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/sidebar/100210-camp-closes-high.html

Thoughts?

[lon3lytoaster]

Whatever works best just works best. We'll have to see how it goes but as of this second I have no complaints.

If Shaq is really on a mission, there's gonna be no stopping that man and if that's the case, I'm all for it.

[Prof. Clutch]

I can't say I'm shocked.  The only thing I care about is that it's the best move for the team.  I guess the first unit will be able to hide his defensive deficiencies better than the second unit...and i piece of me is scared about shaq and baby out on the floor at the same time.

On the other side of this, I hope this doesn't mean that Jermaine O'Neal isn't playing well.

[pearljammer10]

First off, what an incredibly exciting article. it seems that camp went amazing for this team both on the court from a basketball point and off the court from a chemistry point. That is a great great sign and i can not wait for this season to start going.

To tell you the truth, I dont really care who is our starting center. I see both Oneals fitting in whether they are starting or not. I like the idea of Shaq starting and if it works I would be happy to keep it that way.

[Change]

Its means Rondo will start along side not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 future HOF.

Lucky SOB.  

[j804]

I agree with ya guys it can change but whatevers working, the point you bring up of Jermaine does worry me a little also with Shaq in the middle where is Rondo going to operate?  

cant wait for the preseason games pretty sure well see some of it if you seen Shaq lately he looks to be in top notch shape. He supposedly outran all of the Bigs in drills and evn some fastbreaks

[celtsrp33]

That means I got an even better deal than I anticipated by getting Shaq for $4 in the H2H auction... 

[gar]

Don't see this as a positive development. Being able to sit KG and bring in Shaq is much more intimidating for opposing teams. The only benefit is if Doc wants to run with the second team. Would be easy to bring in 3 guards and Jermaine; but would rather have a more flexible first unit that can run and mix it up.

Plus KG can work the inside out game almost as well as Shaq; having them both in there is redundant.

[Who]

Good News: I am very excited about Shaq playing alongside the Big Three. That combination will be monstrous.

Bad News: Not so much with Rondo. Shaq will make his life more difficult like he did to Steve Nash.

Good News: Also happy that Shaq gets to play alongside KG defensively. That will help him immensely.

Bad News: Unhappy thinking about Jermaine O'Neal's offensive duties in that second unit. Worried about him creating his own offense, being inefficient and a ball-stopper and hurting the team's offense.

[Witch-King]

I have no qualms with the fact that Shaquille O'Neal will be starting in Kendrick Perkins absence because the C's half-court style perfectly suits Shaq.

Shaquille's presence in the paint early in the game, or at the start of the first and third quarters will translate to easier scoring opportunities for the C's as Shaq is a great finisher and equally good at passing the ball out of the block or finding an open scorer on the perimeter. Now the Celtics have the option of either Shaq or Garnett finishing around the rim, something that will surely make Rajon, Shaq and KG's jobs much easier for them.

It also helps that the Big 3 are all excellent perimeter shooters, two of which have won the NBA 3-pt contest before. All Rondo has to do is play tough D and keep supplying his teammates with open looks and the Celtics will be fine, as long as none of our key players get hurt this season.

You have to remember that the other 4 members of the starting five (not including Rondo) have at one point in their careers been the leading scorer of their franchise, whether that be Shaq w/ the Lakers/Magic, Garnett with the Timberwolves, Pierce with the Celtics, and Ray Allen with the Supersonics so Rondo will have to keep the other guys on the court happy in order for our offense to click.

We know that Rajon is capable of carrying the scoring load for the Celtics if necessary as he demonstrated in the playoffs the past two seasons, specifically in the Chicago Bulls series of '09 and against the Cavaliers last season so if need-be Rondo can and will deliver for us as he continues to mature as an NBA all-star.

All I know is that this team is going to be very fun to watch this year as Shaq has always been one of my favorite players in the NBA...

[manl_lui]

Good News: I am very excited about Shaq playing alongside the Big Three. That combination will be monstrous.

Bad News: Not so much with Rondo. Shaq will make his life more difficult like he did to Steve Nash.

Good News: Also happy that Shaq gets to play alongside KG defensively. That will help him immensely.

Bad News: Unhappy thinking about Jermaine O'Neal's offensive duties in that second unit. Worried about him creating his own offense, being inefficient and a ball-stopper and hurting the team's offense.

i agree, JO and Shaq, i prefer Shaq coming off the bench. Shaq is instant offense off the bench and come on, how many people in the freaking NBA can guard Shaq. Better yet, WHO can guard Shaq in the 2nd unit...

Shaq with the starters, his touches will be limited, because he has to share the ball with the starters...

coming off the bench, he doesn't have to share as much with BBD, Nate or whatever, he will destroy any 2nd unit big men out there. I might be wrong but, if he comes off the bench, he can probably average 15 and 8 if not close to those numbers, even if its 12 and 6, that is still better than Rasheed's offense.

Don't get me wrong, I love rasheed, i think his defense is great when the playoffs comes, and he did great in the Finals...

but in terms of offense id choose Shaq over Sheed...

[nba is the worst]

Don't see this as a positive development. Being able to sit KG and bring in Shaq is much more intimidating for opposing teams. The only benefit is if Doc wants to run with the second team. Would be easy to bring in 3 guards and Jermaine; but would rather have a more flexible first unit that can run and mix it up.

Plus KG can work the inside out game almost as well as Shaq; having them both in there is redundant.

Rebounding was the biggest flaw last season. Shaq will change that...

[PosImpos]

Shaq and JO will probably end up playing similar minutes; it'll just depend on the night.

Shaq probably fits better with the 1st unit than with the 2nd unit.  I think I'd rather have KG and Shaq together and BBD and JO together (as opposed to other combos).

[jdub1660]

Don't see this as a positive development. Being able to sit KG and bring in Shaq is much more intimidating for opposing teams. The only benefit is if Doc wants to run with the second team. Would be easy to bring in 3 guards and Jermaine; but would rather have a more flexible first unit that can run and mix it up.

Plus KG can work the inside out game almost as well as Shaq; having them both in there is redundant.

What?....Shaq only has an inside game, and it's just like having Perk in the starting 5 except Shaq doesn't have butter fingers. So now 90% of the the sick around the back no look passes that KG makes to the C, Shaq will finsh at the basket.

Our starting 5 will be sick...

[billysan]

Shaq and JO will probably end up playing similar minutes; it'll just depend on the night.

Shaq probably fits better with the 1st unit than with the 2nd unit.  I think I'd rather have KG and Shaq together and BBD and JO together (as opposed to other combos).

I agree. Just as Shaq will be effective with the starters, so will JO on the second unit. I dont see Shaq playing too long at a stretch anyway. Besides, what team out there has two bigs coming off the bench that match up with JO and Baby well enough to give us any trouble. The only way those two have trouble is if someone goes small and runs on our second unit.  

Seeing that the rotation will not be a full line change in most cases, it will be a changing mix of bigs and guards out there for a while. It should be fun watching Doc monkey around with different combinations for the first few months to see what is the most effective grouping for different situations.

I like the idea of Shaq and Rondo starting off the game together. I see some alley oops to KG and Shaq early along with a few fouls drawn (also early) on opposing bigs trying to stop our guys in the post. It going to be nice to establish that early and follow with the jump shooting of Baby and JO.

Shaq still will not likely see over 25 mpg. At least I hope not because that could spell trouble later. The big guy needs to last the whole season, he is the best finisher we have in the post.