Shaq in "fantastic shape" according to G. Dickerson

[hpantazo]

...
It's kind of annoying that he has to have weight related injuries to inspire him to get in better shape.

He was out for a month last year around this time (and dropped 20 pounds) do to a thumb injury.

looks like Shaq's annual tuneup was the reason he was out for a while, which explains why Danny is so confident in his health going forward

[Surferdad]

Great.  But Shaq decides he should lose some weight about as often as Jermaine decides that he should strengthen his legs.

It's kind of annoying that he has to have weight related injuries to inspire him to get in better shape.

Dude has been in the league since '92 making the vet min we should be worshiping at this feet for him even being here.

I agree!  I don't think it's annoying at all.  I wouldn't even really call him fat, it's not like he's Oliver Miller.  He's just a very large man.  There's not much he can do about it.  I would be surprised if he lost that much weight, that's a tough thing to do, but if he did all the better!  I have no issue giving him a month off.  He's an older player who needs that time off to be successful in the playoffs.  When we signed him, we all knew he was going to be taking some time off like this to get healthy for the stretch run.  I like the idea of Shaq playing 15 games, but I wouldn't have him sit for long periods of time.  Let him play 15 of the remaining 25.  Sit him on back to backs first off.  We have 5 games remaining which are the 2nd night of a back to back where we could sit him.  Now we're at 20 games. I'm sure you could pick another 5 games randomly throughout those 20 to get Shaq some rest.  I just think you want to keep his legs moving and you want him to develop some rhythm.

That's the kind of thinking doc will employ.  He will try to find rest for the big guys whenever possible and also dpeendinmg on matchuop,s he may not need to play him certain games.  It's rather arbitrary to assign a fixed number of games he wil play between now and the palyoffs.

[moiso]

It's too bad Shaq does not have KG's intensity and dedication. He could still be dominant 5, an all star, even today.

I agree.  I'm happy he came here, and I'm thrilled with his salary.  But I think he still could be a borderline allstar if he wanted to be.

[Lucky17]

Shaq apparently "1-2 weeks away" according to Ainge.

http://twitter.com/julianbenbow

Completely unrelated: Delonte sprained his ankle, out for a bit.

[Finkelskyhook]

are you guys saying that his reported injury is really a phantom injury and the time off is to get him ready and in shape for the long post-season?  If so, that is genius!

Well, the phantom injury excuse has worked for the other O'Neal for a lot of the second half of his career.

[GranTur]

It's hard to max out conditioning when you're playing regular basketball. Let's say it's legs day...if you work your legs to the maximum, you theoretically shouldn't be playing for 2 days until your legs recover.

I think this is part of the reason why Shaq is out...so he can maximize his strength and conditioning.

[OsirusCeltics]

Didn't Dickerson guarantee that Tony Allen would re-sign with the Celtics?

Haha
Tony Allen not signing and Shaq losing weight are both positives lol