Shaq Out Game 1

[soap07]

Per Twitter from various reporters. Danny said that they "know know when he'll be ready."

How nice.


Should we just assume that Shaq won't be back for the playoffs? I know it's not the same -  but why does this feel like KG in 2009 all over again?

[Senninsage]

Well, it's as simple as this.

We can't make excuses for a team that is still capable of winning, and Jermaine O'neal and Krstic are very suitable for helping to get us a series win over the Knicks, or any team for that matter.

Does Shaq make this team significantly more dangerous? Yes, he does. Does Shaq help us both offensively as well as defensively? Yes, he does. However, he isn't entirely a better defensive Center than Jermaine O'neal. At least, certainly not in the area of shot blocking and pick and roll defense.

That said, we have plenty of strong pieces on our team to beat any team that's currently in the playoffs. We have no excuse. It sucks to not have Shaq, but let's not use it as a crutch.

[zerophase]

When Shaq first signed on, wasn't JO suppose to be the starter anyways with Perkins out? People are placing too much pressure on Shaq. He was signed as a min wage bench guy anyways. The trade was on Danny, not Shaq.

In either case, we don't need Shaq to beat the Knicks. Whose their starting center again?

[Senninsage]

I think Shaq was always expected to be a starter, if he could stay healthy. However, I don't know if anyone anticipated that the Celtics would be THAT amazing this season with Shaq in the lineup, and surely we were.

Many expected the Celtics would be better with Shaq, but I'm not sure if many expected them to be as unbelievable as they ended up being, and it's such a shame that we are to be teased this way, but hopefully the Celtics stick around long enough for Shaq to contribute to this team.

Still, let's place our faith in Jermaine. He has worked extremely hard to come back and be helpful for this team. So we just have to trust him and the rest of his teammates to get the job done.