It looks like New York is going to be starting Ronny Turiaf alongside Amare.
It'd be nice to have Shaq back to use against Ronny. Gives the C's a nice advantage.
Even Krstic, Jermaine, or BBD should be fine against Turiaf. From what I saw last night, Turiaf can't defend any of them.
They'll be fine -- Turiaf isn't a problem by any means -- but they wouldn't create the advantage that Shaq would against Turiaf.
I would think that Turiaf can defend JO, Krstic or BBD reasonably well. He has enough size (6-10, 250lbs) and defensive chops to a credible job in the post / paint area against those guys and enough quickness, mobility and length to cover BBD/Krstic away from the rim.
In contrast, Shaq's size (7-1, 300+lbs) creates a major matchup problem for Turiaf. He has no hope of containing him in the post or contesting his other shot attempts around the rim.
None of those guys (BBD, JO, Krstic) are prolific rebounders either so they won't punish Ronny's weak rebounding either. Shaq is a strong rebounder.
Turiaf's limited offensive game does free JO up to be a disruptive help defender though.
The Celtics will fine without Shaq against New York but it'd be nice to have him. It'd cause NY's starting lineup more problems.
