Shaq or bust.

[Celtics18]

For me that's the situation, right now.  Jo, Murphy or Krstic don't do it for me right now.  I've been sticking up for Curly around here lately, but that was going under the assumption that the Big Shamrock would be back and giving us at least the kind of twenty something minutes he gave us earlier in the season making Nenad a back up center.

I guess I could have some hope for Junior O'Neal, but I don't think he gives us that offensive interior post presence that Daddy gave us to start the season. That's what we really need to right this ship going into the playoffs. 

Is this really 2009 all over again?

Come on back, big Fella, please.

[Megatron]

Its alwasy been Shaq or bust in my mind.

Even if we hadnt done the Perkins trade, we werent going to beat the Lakers unless we had another quality big coming off the bench.

[Celtics18]

Its alwasy been Shaq or bust in my mind.

Even if we hadnt done the Perkins trade, we werent going to beat the Lakers unless we had another quality big coming off the bench.

I think that Shaq and Perk would have been a more than adequate center rotation.  The problem would have been that we wouldn't have had anyone to back up Paul Pierce at the small forward position and help him deal with Lebron James in the East.  

Without a legitimate back up wing we may never even have had to worry about LA's twin towers.  

I understand that Jeff Green's had his troubles on both ends, but he gives us a long, athletic, floor running wing with some offensive skill that we've desperately needed for a while now.  

[Prof. Clutch]

There's no doubting how important it will be to have Shaq come playoff time.

[BASS_THUMPER]

jermaine is better than shaq..

he runs better and a way better post player than shaq..i miss perk..his physical play..def we are  missing something..

i have twisted my ankle and balled the following saturday..now i wasnt dunkin from the free throw line as usual. but a 15 foot set shot still help me  shine..whats taking so long for shaq to get better...?

enuff about me...bottom line we dont need shaq..Jermaine healthy it's all good..be nice to see shaq attend our run for anutha ring but...

[barefacedmonk]

Shaq or bust.

How about Shaq's bust:

[Celtics18]

jermaine is better than shaq..

he runs better and a way better post player than shaq..i miss perk..his physical play..def we are  missing something..

i have twisted my ankle and balled the following saturday..now i wasnt dunkin from the free throw line as usual. but a 15 foot set shot still help me  shine..whats taking so long for shaq to get better...?

enuff about me...bottom line we dont need shaq..Jermaine healthy it's all good..be nice to see shaq attend our run for anutha ring but...

I don't think JO's the answer, but I hope I'm wrong, because I'm starting to think that he's the most likely O'Neal to play for the Boston Celtics this post-season.

[jambr380]

Shaq or bust.

How about Shaq's bust:

Haha, you seriously came up with that? Tp

I agree that Shaq would be huge right now, but I think we just need major minutes from one of JO or Shaq and most importantly, our starters to care about basketball again.

[Lord_of_the17Rings]

Doesn't the fact that we now are understanding the severity of Shaq's injury, make Danny's trade that much more inexcusable? If Shaq could only give you 15-20 minutes tops, you would still be ok if you had Perk. But if Kristic has to play 30 minutes of D that's not going to end well, whether it's trying to stop Dwight or Noah, or just being a presence against an attacking LeBron or Wade.  Frankly I'm surprised Danny hitched his ride to a horse he knew was ready for the glue factory.

[barefacedmonk]

@jambr380: I wish I had the talent and skills to come up with something like that.

[zerophase]

Shaq or bust.

How about Shaq's bust:

I approve.

[ballin]

jermaine is better than shaq..

he runs better and a way better post player than shaq..i miss perk..his physical play..def we are  missing something..

i have twisted my ankle and balled the following saturday..now i wasnt dunkin from the free throw line as usual. but a 15 foot set shot still help me  shine..whats taking so long for shaq to get better...?

enuff about me...bottom line we dont need shaq..Jermaine healthy it's all good..be nice to see shaq attend our run for anutha ring but...

JO is better than shaq? give me some of whatever you're smoking

[chambers]

jermaine is better than shaq..

he runs better and a way better post player than shaq..i miss perk..his physical play..def we are  missing something..

i have twisted my ankle and balled the following saturday..now i wasnt dunkin from the free throw line as usual. but a 15 foot set shot still help me  shine..whats taking so long for shaq to get better...?

enuff about me...bottom line we dont need shaq..Jermaine healthy it's all good..be nice to see shaq attend our run for anutha ring but...

JO is better than shaq? give me some of whatever you're smoking

I think he's saying as far as the Celtics scheme for the playoffs goes. JO is a long defensively aggressive big who can defend the pick n roll better than shaq. He's closer to perkins with a better blocking ability. If his legs are anything like they were when he played for Indiana he could potentially be a better option than Shaq (if Shaq is still struggling with this foot problem come playoff time). Just stick him out there vs guys like Dwight or Gasol and let him go to work on defense- not really expecting much on the offensive end.

It's going to make such a difference to the 'attitude' of this team when these two monsters are back and bringing pain to every SG or PG that drives to the hole. Hard fouls here we come

[Dr H]

I've said this somewhere else and I'll say it again:

Getting Shaq(and even JO) at the beginning of the season was great because we didn't need them to be a super star or anything..all we needed Shaq to do was plug up the lane, get some easy baskets here and there, and provide 6(hard) fouls. JO we needed the same from, too. It would've been nice because we would've had a big rotation of Perk, Shaq and JO who could all protect the paint and block shots all in their time on the court.

But then Ainge went and traded Perkins away...JO is injured. (despite the recent news I still believe Shaq will be back before JO, I still think how silly some people can be when they see "oh JO can be back as early as next week" and believe it) Shaq went from a luxury to a NECESSITY. Shaq was a necessity in Cleveland and in Pheonix, both didn't turn out so well at all. And IMO it doesn't look well at all for us if we need Shaq to be that necessity..

*yes I understand we need/needed wing depth which is why Perk got traded away for Jeff Green, so don't take it as me complaining about the trade still. We basically filled a hole in one area(wing depth) in exchange of making a hole in another area of our team,(front court depth). I still believe we can win it all with our current line up(with Shaq in it, JO would be a luxury), but it won't be pretty at all.

[clover]

I've said this somewhere else and I'll say it again:

Getting Shaq(and even JO) at the beginning of the season was great because we didn't need them to be a super star or anything..all we needed Shaq to do was plug up the lane, get some easy baskets here and there, and provide 6(hard) fouls. JO we needed the same from, too. It would've been nice because we would've had a big rotation of Perk, Shaq and JO who could all protect the paint and block shots all in their time on the court.

But then Ainge went and traded Perkins away...JO is injured. (despite the recent news I still believe Shaq will be back before JO, I still think how silly some people can be when they see "oh JO can be back as early as next week" and believe it) Shaq went from a luxury to a NECESSITY. Shaq was a necessity in Cleveland and in Pheonix, both didn't turn out so well at all. And IMO it doesn't look well at all for us if we need Shaq to be that necessity..

*yes I understand we need/needed wing depth which is why Perk got traded away for Jeff Green, so don't take it as me complaining about the trade still. We basically filled a hole in one area(wing depth) in exchange of making a hole in another area of our team,(front court depth). I still believe we can win it all with our current line up(with Shaq in it, JO would be a luxury), but it won't be pretty at all.

Though Shaq has the greater immediate impact, I'm betting more on JO's health at this point than Shaq's.   JO's kept on schedule and now without swelling since surgery, whereas Shaq's achilles has been a moving, troublesome target.