Will Shaq play on Sunday? “I don’t know,” said Ainge. “I honestly don’t know.”
During an interview with WEEI, Danny Ainge sounded skeptical about whether Shaq would play on Sunday.
“I don’t know. I honestly don’t know,” he said. He then discussed how much depth the Celtics had accumulated at the center position in case Shaq was injured, almost as if he actually believed what he was saying.
For this team, which otherwise relies on Jermaine O’Neal (who admittedly looked good against Washington, though it was only Washington), Nenad Krstic and the struggling Glen Davis, Shaq’s health remains key. When he played this season, the Celtics were at their best. Better than they were with Kendrick Perkins. Better than they were with any center currently healthy. Simply by being on the court, Shaq transforms the Celtics into a title contender. Oddly enough, for a 39-year old center who hasn’t played in two months, Shaq could be the difference between Boston winning and losing a title.
Either way, Shaq or no Shaq, Ainge feels confident entering the playoffs.
“I love our team and I like it better than I did last year, without question,” Ainge said. “I think last year the questions were much more significant. Paul [Pierce] was not 100 percent healthy. We had serious concerns about [Kevin Garnett] going into the playoffs. I had much more concerns last year. This year, I like our bench better. We feel like we have a really strong bench and that will help us as well.”
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Celtics Blog | Jay King | April 15, 2011
Like I said before,their is no need to play Shaq in the first round.Doc should rest him until we play the Heat and the Bulls.We don’t need him against the Knicks since they have nothing in the paint.We can get by the Knicks without Shaq and if we can’t,then we have bigger problems than Shaq.
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Danny i Believe—-”Rondo and Jeff Green have to play wellll in playoffs, and if we get Shaq back we are in good shape. Green has to give us offense, cuase i feel thats where we are struggling
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You know, it’s really a shame that Danny is still blowing smoke. Doc, at least, should cut the crap. The Trade was madness and Doc, at least, should stop fronting. We can still win this thing, but obviously it has to start with getting the trust back.
Yes, it’s true that we were better with Shaq than with Perk as our starting center … WHEN SHAQ WAS HEALTHY, MOTIVATED AND PLAYING WELL. Shaq and Rondo? Sweet Lord, those two were born to play together. Shaq and Garnett? Ditto. And Shaq showed us that, for a few minutes per game, he could still be a center like no other.
But, come on, it’s just false to say ” Simply by being on the court, Shaq transforms the Celtics into a title contender.” We need Shaq to play well, and to do it game after game, series after series, in what promises to be one of the most grueling post-seasons of all time, and that’s a lot to hope for. You know, as long as we are in the business of hoping for some near miracle to save our championship hopes, I think our prayers would be better expended on hoping that Rondo wakes up from his near-coma and becomes the player we’ve all anticipated, and seen in flashes. Rondo, not Shaq, is the guy who truly holds our fate in his hands. We still have the Big Three, and we still have a guy who is capable of playing like the best player in basketball. We can still win a championship, even if the Holy Angels fail to hover around Shaq, zapping him with miracles every time his body starts to break down. When you come right down to it, we just need Rondo to become – consistently – the master/monster catalyst he was born to be. Shaq’s return, Green picking his game up, Delonte healing, Jermaine healing … all these things would help a lot, but basically, we need the Rondo who inspires basketball religion like no other player to come back to his congregation.
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Wow, Paul… you sound like a broken record about the trade man. Let. It. Go.
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