I know this is kind of old news. Can’t lie, I’m not on my blogging game while I’m on the beach. But this is worth posting, even if I’m a day late and a dollar short. (Boston Globe)

O’Neal didn’t gloss over the dustups he and Kendrick Perkins had last May in the playoffs. Instead, he cleared the air. “Perk is a very tough defender, probably one of the best big defenders in the league,’’ O’Neal said. “It was only on-the-court-battles/marketing. He’s a guy that’s not going to back down, I’m not going to back down. So I think if anything it was good for TV. Now, being on the same team, I will give him all the knowledge I have accumulated over the past 18 years. Have we had battles? Of course we have. Have we had good battles and bad battles? Of course we have, but that’s all over now because we’re teammates.’’

I don’t think this ever should have been considered a big deal. Competitors compete. They throw elbows. They don’t back down. They don’t give an inch. They get heated at opponents. But once you’re on the same team, you’re throwing elbows at someone else. You’re getting heated at some other guy. You’re teaming up with whoever’s wearing your jersey. Perk and Shaq won’t be mad at each other when the season starts; they will be the new-age Bash Brothers.

Competitors don’t hold it against someone else for playing hard, or throwing elbows. That’s why Kobe Bryant wanted Raja Bell and Matt Barnes on his team so badly. Those guys never back down from Kobe, and he respects the hell out of them for it. Because the guys who are tough to play against, who are physical, who fight for every loose ball even if it means throwing an elbow or two, THOSE are the guys you want as your teammates. So Shaq and Perk will be fine. There is no need to worry about those two, even if Shaq hadn’t been so complimentary.

[superbutton link="http://www.celticstown.com/forums" title="Forums" image="" class="sprbtn_lightgray"]Discuss in our Forums[/superbutton]