Should Celtics give Shaq a longer look?
Shaq Attaq.
Chris Forsberg set out to write about why Shaq wouldn’t fit in Boston, but the end result was something far different than the original intention. Why? Probably because he figured out during his research, “Holy shit! There might not be anybody on the market better than Shaq?!”
Long story short, Forsberg ended up wondering whether the Celtics should give Shaq a longer look. (ESPN Boston)
Forsberg’s points:
- The Celtics sucked at rebounding last season. Shaq is one of only three players left on the market who was in the league’s top 25 in rebounding last year.
- The other two? Earl Barron and Anthony Tolliver. Not exactly an awe-inspiring list.
- Miami is weak up front. For all his shortcomings, Shaq can still bruise inside.
- Kendrick Perkins is hurt. If Sheed retires, the Celtics need a big man pretty desperately. The market for big men is damn thin. Get where I’m going with this?
And the offseason beer goggles continue to do the trick.
Related posts:
Celtics Blog, Featured | Jay King | July 19, 2010
Anthony Tolliver, Boston Celtics, Earl Barron, Miami Heat, Shaquille O'Neal
shaq didnt work for the suns, he dint work for the cavs and he wont work for the celtics
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I’m with you. But do you have a better idea?
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I personally like Earl Barron. I don’t understand the hate on that one. You have to have talent to put up 18/17 in an NBA game, I don’t care the reason.
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It’s a lot easier to put up numbers when your team sucks. That said, he could become a decent player. Just don’t see it being on a contender so soon.
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Earl Barron would be nice but I don’t see NY letting him get away.
Like I said before, if we can get Shaq along with one of the wing players from CLE for Sheed, I’m in.
Moon and Shaq for Sheed.
I agree that he can’t play when Rondo’s on the floor because he’ll clog the paint but does no one else see the possibility that is staring us in the face?
ORL – Howard
LA – Bynum, Gasol, Odom
BOS – KG, Shaq, JO, Perk
Am I the only one who see’s the utter beatdown that would be laid upon the league with that type of frontcourt?
Imagine the rebounding diferential you’re talking about with Shaq, JO, and Perk?!
You can slam his P&R D all you want but if the C’s can get a legit wing like Moon, and Shaq…it is over man.
Banner 18 might as well get hung right now with the beatings that group will be laying out in the middle. That’s superior interior D, rebounding, and post scoring. They would eat LA’s frontcourt ALIVE.
Dwight Howard for breakfast, Bosh and Z for lunch, Gasol for dinner and Bynum for dessert.
Get Shaq please!
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Perk is going to be out for awhile. So they need a big guy like Shaq just to stay afloat. I don’t know about all that dominance talk yet.
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I say get Shaq and keep Sheed. Let KG/JO and Sheed play PF at times when Perk or Shaq are at the 5, as Sheed is a great side court shooter. And when he is at center put Shaq at the high post and let him set picks for Rondo (and others cutting etc.) thereby being out of the way of Rondo’s drives. Besides being an excellent passer, Shaq can get to the hoop in 2 steps and still cover a lot of rebound area. Just have him roll after Rondo for Rondo flip back ally-oops, follow-ups and rebs. Forget the others. Lastly, Shaq would love to beat down on Miami and Kobe as he drives, or tries, to drive.
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That last sentence is the best reason to have Shaq on the squad.
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I don’t see why he wouldn’t work for the Celtics. He wouldn’t be a starter anyway although with Jermaine O’Neal already there you’d have to wonder if he’d consider playing 5 minutes a game once Perk comes back from his injury. What do you think about bringing Posey back? Perhaps we could trade a few pieces? He has 2 years left on his contract. I have no idea how we would make this happen or if it would be a good idea. We’d still need a wing scorer.
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I don’t understand the negativity surrounding Shaq.
The guy is 38! And he still produces!!!
Ok his P&R D sucks granted but how many people on the team play AWESOME P&R D? KG and JO would make up for a multitude of Shaq’s sins on the defensive end, and you don’t have to play him a lot of minutes when Rondo’s on the floor.
If you had a lineup of shooters like, Nate, Ray, PP, and KG or JO on the floor with Shaq, there’s no problem! Everyone on the floor can, and at this point in the big three’s careers probably would rather, shoot jump shots and spread the floor.
With Shaq out there in that lineup, you can easily makeup for the rebounding issues.
Then for a length lineup, you could play Shaq, JO, KG, PP, and Ray. It would make life hell on teams like the Lakers.
During the regular season you could have Shaq, JO, KG, BBD all playing under 25 minutes a game and totally fresh come playoffs.
It would allow them to ease Perk back, and have a serious size advantage over anyone in the postseason.
I say if they can get him and a wing from CLE like Shaq and Moon for Sheed and Gaffney along with a 2nd rounder or something then do it.
Then we could do a first and Lafayette for Rudy and our rosters done. You can even go after Mason for more 3 ball power but that’s a solid depth packed lineup.
Rondo, Nate, Bradley
Ray, Rudy, Mason
PP, Moon
KG, BBD, Luke
Shaq, JO, Perk, Erden
They’d add size, rebounding and frontcourt depth, athleticism, and youth at the wing as well as young players to develope along the way.
If CLE goes for it, I’m in immediately.
Sheed + Gaffney can get Moon ($3 mil) and Shaq at $5.9 mil. Go 2 years with Shaq at that and we’ve got past present and future locked on our roster while still keeping our young pieces. Add Rudy to the mix and we’ve got a championship calibur team.
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I don’t know just how much I like Moon, but I guess he’s an upgrade on what the Celtics have now. (Smacking head against the wall.) Put Parker into that trade instead and I’m on board.
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Shaq is a no brainer, trade sheed contract for him, and sign a veteran wing/ even if he isnt ideal—the size in the middle would be devastating—
Shaq can score on block when u surround him with shooters—and can still pass at a very high level—-could def anchor like perk—-his pick and roll defense isnt good but vs smaller teams you could play him less—the bigger teams he would be a huge asset—-
Even when perk comes back dont rush him back—-if u had KG/JO/Shaq/BB splitn minutes—-stayn freshhh for playoffs it would be huge—-u wouldnt have to rush perk bak and when he comes back u have the luxury to only play him 10 minutes a game and let that knee recover.
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to say the suns and cavs didnt win a title b/c of shaq means u kno very little about basketball—blame 1 guy isnt rite—-look at shaq’s efficiency rating in 2010 playoffs +12—in 20 minutes going for 11pts, 5 rebs—
He was effective for cleaveland—-cavs lost b/c mo williams sucks, delonte west think he is being casted in DESPERADO—– Big z shoots from parking lot—-Anothony parker sucked when he was 25—he was 36 last year—-Varajo is the softest big in the league and all his does is act—-
Shaq played well last year the rest of the cast was the issue…….
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The Cavs played better when Shaq was on the bench, if I’m not mistaken. Not that he can’t be effective in a limited role, but he changes the entire offense (and defense) when he’s in there.
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With Jermain O’Neal on the team, now Shaq would fit great. When Perk comes back we’ll have a lot of bigs to beat Miami and match-up with LA. If we can some how get Shaq,(if Sheed retires) and one swing man that plays dee this team will look very good. If Sheed is gone we could really use Shaq for Orland, everyone seems to forget about that team.
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