[Snowball]

[ShogunRua]

Celtics are a lock now?

[Pensinger1]

Rofl, this will only hurt the Celts chances.

[Snowball]

Celtics roll

[bureK]

lol

[JohnnyD4916]

But can he really help them?

[Snowball]

From Chris Forsbergs twitter

John Havlicek dropped by C's practice today. He just so happened to be on the 1969 team, the only Boston squad to rally from 0-2 hole.
12 minutes ago

Series summary

Game Date Home Team Result Road Team
Game 1 April 23 Los Angeles Lakers 120–118 (1-0) Boston Celtics
Game 2 April 25 Los Angeles Lakers 118–112 (2-0) Boston Celtics
Game 3 April 27 Boston Celtics 111–105 (1-2) Los Angeles Lakers
Game 4 April 29 Boston Celtics 89–88 (2-2) Los Angeles Lakers
Game 5 May 1 Los Angeles Lakers 117–104 (3-2) Boston Celtics
Game 6 May 3 Boston Celtics 99–90 (3-3) Los Angeles Lakers
Game 7 May 5 Los Angeles Lakers 106–108 (3-4) Boston Celtics
Celtics win the series 4-3

[Scorpion]

Shaq 50 years old and 60 pounds overweight will save the Celtics

[Snowball]

Rivers “expects” Shaq to play in Game 3; Pierce good to go
It’s a road Doc Rivers has been down too many times over the last month, and has yet to bear fruit, but the Celtics coach said after this morning’s practice that he expects Shaquille O’Neal to play in Game 3 on Saturday night.

In other injury news, Paul Pierce (left Achilles tendon), Rajon Rondo (back) and Ray Allen (bruised chest) all took part in today’s walk-through-speed session and have all received a green light to play Saturday as well.

“The injury we were really concerned with was obviously Shaq’s, and the other one was Paul,” said Rivers, who later indicated that the big man’s role could even be limited to just a few minutes. “(Jermaine O’Neal) has a stiff back, Rondo has a stiff back - a lot of guys are injured.

“(But) I am expecting Shaq,” said the Celtics coach. “He told me he was going to play, and Eddie (trainer Lacerte) thought he would play. I expect him to play, and if he didn’t it would be because something went wrong in practice, or his body didn’t respond. But I expect him. We won’t let him do too much, but how much is too much? How the hell do I know?
Walking to the floor could be too much. We’ll find that out.”

[suicidekings]

Honestly, I can see this going either way. So far Miami has enjoyed a small rebounding edge in the series and points in the paint are dead even. The biggest category that Boston is getting killed in is actually shot blocking (Miami has 17 in the series to Boston's 5) and this is definitely where Shaq can make a major contribution.

I would say if he's not playing 15+ effective minutes, pulling in at least 10 rebounds and blocking/altering 4+ shots in Game 3, then the net effect will be a negative one for Boston. Miami is going to attack him early and try to put him into foul trouble. He needs to make an impact in the 1Q.

[Snowball]

KG turns into an animal with Shaq on the floor.



"Shaq is like paradise, man," he said. "You ever wash your sheets and then go outside and hang them out, and the sun dries them? You ever smell the sheets?

"That's what Shaq is, Shaq is like," Garnett said before breathing in deeply, like he was inhaling fresh air. "I don't want to give any products any tags right now, but you know what I'm saying. For anybody who's ever hung out clothes, they know what I mean."

[ShogunRua]

Shaq will help Boston increase their fast break points.

[suicidekings]

KG turns into an animal with Shaq on the floor. "Shaq is like paradise, man," he said. "You ever wash your sheets and then go outside and hang them out, and the sun dries them? You ever smell the sheets? "That's what Shaq is, Shaq is like," Garnett said before breathing in deeply, like he was inhaling fresh air. "I don't want to give any products any tags right now, but you know what I'm saying. For anybody who's ever hung out clothes, they know what I mean."

Of course KG loves it when Shaq is in at centre. It allows him so much more flexibility to play his game in the midrange instead of having to live in the paint on the defensive end. When he's playing effectively, Shaq gives the rest of the Boston team the ability to spread their defense a little more and contest shots from the midrange/perimeter more effectively.

I'll be very interested to see how it goes when Lebron tries to drive to the rim against him, knowing each other as they do.

[pittmatt80]

The Celtics really need to win their home games to have a remote chance. Really want them to win this series but don't see that happening. Hopefully they can make it interesting Shaq can't hurt. Good Luck

[uhuhahah]

Celtics roll

Boston will lose 1 more game.

Game 7 for these 2 teams baby.

[JOHON8]

Shaq is old, but it should be fun to see the Heat struggle to get past him and Garnett on the floor.

[thebestthereis]

shaq is back for motivation and to tell jokes to the crowd at halftime. if you think he will be a factor on the court stop now. his presence will matter without scoring a point. celtics win on emotion if nothing else.

[suicidekings]

shaq is back for motivation and to tell jokes to the crowd at halftime. if you think he will be a factor on the court stop now. his presence will matter without scoring a point. celtics win on emotion if nothing else.

Where would you place his expected production for this game then? There has to be a breakeven point that defines how his presence on the court is either a positive or negative addition to the Celtics chance of winning.

[goucla]

I think both they roll and that they dont need him at all

[thebestthereis]

Where would you place his expected production for this game then? There has to be a breakeven point that defines how his presence on the court is either a positive or negative addition to the Celtics chance of winning.

i live in boston and was being somewhat jocular. i don't see much production on the court at all from shaq honestly. his presence in the 20 minutes he plays (barring injury) will motivate the team and give them a huge home court edge...something miami doesn't have. miami is the better team in the same way the yankees trot out the best free agents money can buy. now that doesn't mean the celtics cannot muster a game plan to slow down the heat, they will. rondo will have a huge game (15+ assists for sure) and the defense should hold the heat under 90. honestly my bet here is under 183 because i cannot lay 3 in a game that could easily come down to 3 or less. i lost the under in game 2, but here i feel it the best option for the situation. good luck!

[suicidekings]

i live in boston and was being somewhat jocular. i don't see much production on the court at all from shaq honestly. his presence in the 20 minutes he plays (barring injury) will motivate the team and give them a huge home court edge...something miami doesn't have. miami is the better team in the same way the yankees trot out the best free agents money can buy. now that doesn't mean the celtics cannot muster a game plan to slow down the heat, they will. rondo will have a huge game (15+ assists for sure) and the defense should hold the heat under 90. honestly my bet here is under 183 because i cannot lay 3 in a game that could easily come down to 3 or less. i lost the under in game 2, but here i feel it the best option for the situation. good luck!

This analysis makes really good sense to me. I would go one step further and say that there's probably a correlation between a Celtics win and the Under in this game, and a Heat/Over pairing. Maybe not enough to play it as such, but the Under seems strong to me.

[delrey10]

shaq need to be retired

[thebestthereis]

i was gonna say heat over celtics under. the celtics cannot win a game with the heat scoring 100 points....we already have seen that twice.

[Snowball]

thebestthereis, in full agreement with you on emotional morale
factor with Shaq's return. Although he won't be starting, if he plays
ok, without injury, then it's safe to assume he will indeed start Game 4.
If Shaq can get back into early-season form, he will be a factor.
Shaq is always a factor in one way or another.
Some of his showings this season have been spectacular.
2010/11 Player Statistics:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/.../gamelog/2011/

[Gtawatson]

lets
go heat

lets go heat

lets go heat

[HCBoone]

Well, they need him.

[face]

about damn time. celtics need him bad. shaq-attack. stop playing like ass and you'll win, celtics.

[Crayzee]

i had to open the thread to remember what team he was on now

[shade3599]

this guy will only hurt the celtics. maybe he can do a rap at half time so he can be appreciated for being there. haha

[politicin]

Anybody claiming Shaq won't be a difference maker is retarded. Just the presence alone on the defensive boards is enough.

[forzuto13]

Anybody claiming Shaq won't be a difference maker is retarded. Just the presence alone on the defensive boards is enough.

Agreed. This is the only difference he'll make though. Ain't gonna be no Shaq-Attack like someone said in this thread. I wish we could rewind to the beginning of the season when Shaq was playing well on both ends and the team was healthy and moving. Oh well, game three will be huge for the C's. BOL!

[suicidekings]

I wonder if Shaq would be playing in Game 3 if the Celtics were up 2-0 instead of down 2-0. My guess is no.

[politicin]

Most likely not SK. Maybe off the bench to get him ready for possible starts in an East Finals series.

[Snowball]

Celtics’ Garnett says it’s ‘all-in’ time

WALTHAM, Mass. —Paul Pierce has figured out how to help the Boston Celtics play better during the final minutes of Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Miami Heat.
He’s going to stick around.
Pierce was ejected from the series opener with 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter, and in Game 2 he strained his left Achilles’ tendon in the first half and was still hobbling down the stretch.
He knows that Boston’s chances of avoiding a 3-0 deficit depend on his ability to stick around at the end, and he plans to be there.
“Paul Pierce being in the game in the fourth quarter, healthy, is always going to help the Celtics,” he said before practice Friday.
The Heat took the first two games in Miami, and the series resumes Saturday in Boston. For these Celtics, who have never fallen behind 0-2 since their Big Three was assembled in the summer of 2007, it’s a crucial game to avoid what could be an insurmountable hole.
“We still feel like it’s going to be a seven-game series,” Pierce said. “I like our chances, especially with our backs against the wall.”
The Celtics have reason to be optimistic that they can at least make a series of it. They are back at home, where this core is 29-7 in the playoffs, and they expect to be healthier than they have been in a while, thanks in part to the three days off since their Game 2 loss.
That will help Ray Allen, who has a bruised chest from being elbowed by LeBron James, and Rajon Rondo, who has a stiff back. Pierce said his Achilles’ is fine, and coach Doc Rivers said he expects to have center Shaquille O’Neal coming off the bench for the first time in the postseason.
O’Neal has played just 5 minutes, 29 seconds since Feb. 1 because of a leg injury.
“Other than that, we don’t know what he can give us on the floor,” Rivers said, adding that O’Neal would not be limited in practice. “There’s no way we can get him at 100%. That ship has sailed. That would be a miracle. But we can get him to a point where he can help us.”
O’Neal came to Boston for just this time of year, but he missed the sweep of the New York Knicks in the first round and the first two games against Miami because of a calf injury in his right leg. The Celtics originally said it was a “minor” injury, and he has been day-to-day from month-to-month, but he hasn’t gotten back on the court.
“We don’t know what to expect,” Heat guard Dwayne Wade said. “Shaq is a champion. He’s a guy who has won four rings. He’s had a lot of big playoff moments. Having him back is going to be a boost in energy to the crowd and to the team.
“But it’s our job to go in and continue executing our game plan and not really worry about who’s coming back, who’s in the lineup and who isn’t.”
The defending Eastern Conference champions, the Celtics won it all in 2008 and took the Los Angeles Lakers to seven games in the NBA Finals last year. The Celtics cruised through the Knicks in the first round for their date with Heat — a matchup that had been anticipated since James and Chris Bosh joined Wade in Miami to form the league’s newest superteam.
But to get past them, Boston will have to do something its has never had to do: Rally from two games down in the playoffs.
“The whole thing’s a challenge,” forward Kevin Garnett said. “Our mentality is an all-in mentality. … This is it. We’ve used all our lifelines. I hate to say it like that, but it’s true.
“This is not a cool, kind of, ‘Keep your composure.’ No, this is, ‘We’ve got to get the next game.’ It’s all-in. This is it. I’ve got two pocket kings and I’m all in.”
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra would expect nothing less.
“They’re a poised, experienced team that’s been through it all,” he said. “And they’ve been through this before, where everybody’s throwing dirt on them, saying that whatever it may be, that it’s near the end of the line, that their guys have too many miles on those wheels.
“We don’t believe any of that,” Spoelstra said. “Every time you count them out, they come back with a championship response. That’s who they’ve been. That’s what they deserve. They deserve that type of respect.”

[suicidekings]

Classy words from Spoelstra.