Shaquille O'Neal Injured In Return

CSNNE - REPORT

CSNNE had video of Shaq leaving the arena. No crutches and no walking boot. He'll be back. I think.

"It's not a bad strain, but its a strain. (On how long Shaq will be out) I don't think very long... it's very minor and scared him more than anything," Doc Rivers on Shaq's injury.

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Shaq strains right calf vs. Pistons
Posted by Gary Washburn Globe Staff April 3, 2011 06:52 PM

Just minutes after Shaquille O'Neal wowed the crowd with 6 points in his first game in two months, he was limping back to the locker room with 11:11 left in the second quarter of the Celtics' game against the Detroit Pistons. The team said it is officially a strained right calf and did not return.

Playing for the first time since Feb. 1, O'Neal was in for his second stint of the game when he suddenly began limping, heavily favoring the right leg. He could barely walk down the tunnel to the locker room.

O'Neal missed a chunk of the season because he was unable to play on the same foot. There was a sense of relief, however, that O'Neal didn't re-aggravate the Achilles tendon injury that sidelined him previously.


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Shaq out indefinitely, Celtics win 101-90

April 3, 2011, 8:19 pm
By A. Sherrod Blakely
CSNNE.com

BOSTON — Prior to Sunday's 101-90 win over Detroit, Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers opted to play Shaquille O'Neal with the goal being to limit his minutes.

But this is not what he had in mind.

O'Neal returned to action and looked good in his six minutes on the floor, only to suffer yet another injury that will sideline him indefinitely.

So even as Paul Pierce (22 points) and Kevin Garnett (23 points, eight rebounds) looked good in Sunday's win, all the talk was about the big fella who won't be playing big minutes - or any minutes, most likely - any time soon.

Early in the second quarter, O'Neal scored six points before suffering a right calf strain - one of the many injuries he has already had this season - and was unable to return.

He limped off the floor, and was soon aided by team trainer Ed Lacerte.

They were soon joined by other members of the Celtics medical staff in the tunnel area where the C's enter the court before games.

It is unclear if he'll be able to play on Tuesday against Philadelphia.

Even before the injury, Rivers indicated that O'Neal would miss some games between now and the start of the playoffs.

Now, the C's have no choice.

Fortunately for them, it appears as though Nenad Krstic's injury against San Antonio on Thursday won't keep him sidelined as long as initially thought.

He has a bone bruise to his right knee after the C's feared he might have suffered torn ligaments.

Rivers said Krstic might be back as early as Tuesday's game against Philadelphia.

Boston is now starting Jermaine O'Neal at center.

Like most centers, J. O'Neal has had his share of injuries this season as well.

In fact, Sunday was just his 20th game of the season after missing most of the year following surgery to his left knee.

Against the Pistons, O'Neal played 17 minutes while scoring five points to go with six rebounds.

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By Peter May
ESPNBoston.com
Archive
BOSTON -- Shaquille O'Neal made his long-awaited return to the lineup, joining the Boston Celtics for their game against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday. But the big guy's reappearance ended almost as soon as it began.

Forty-nine seconds into the second quarter -- and into his sixth minute of action -- O'Neal came up limping while running up the floor on a Boston possession, clearly favoring the right foot which had given him so much trouble the last two months.

O'Neal appeared to be in considerable pain, using the padded table adjacent to the Celtics' bench to support himself. He was hunched over as he headed to the locker room, accompanied by team physicians. A TD Garden crowd that had been enraptured by the first five minutes of O'Neal's play suddenly went silent.

O'Neal, who has been suffering from Achilles tendonitis in his right leg and was playing in his first game since Feb. 1 against the Sacramento Kings, made his first appearance with 4:43 remaining in the first quarter, replacing Kevin Garnett to a standing ovation.

Fifteen seconds later, he made a layup for his first points in more than two months. A few seconds after that, he deflected an alley-oop pass intended for Detroit's Greg Monroe, a play in which his momentum carried him into the baseline seats. O'Neal added two more baskets -- a jump hook and a spinning layup -- before returning to the bench with 3 seconds left in the period. In five minutes, he was 3-of-3 from the field while also collecting a rebound and committing a turnover.

Coach Doc Rivers then put O'Neal on the floor to start the second quarter. Apparent disaster soon followed.

The team says O'Neal has a right calf strain and that he will be reevaluated at halftime; at the break, a Celtics spokesman said he would not return. O'Neal needed a wheelchair to move through the tunnel.

Rivers said before the game that he planned to ease O'Neal back into the lineup. The plan for the Pistons game was to bring him off the bench for stints of 5-7 minutes in each of the two halves. The Celtics are 27-9 in the 36 games O'Neal has played this season.

ESPNBoston.com reported on March 23 that O'Neal was 10 days away from returning.

"You're not going to see a whole bunch of him," Rivers said of O'Neal, who had started all of the 36 games in which he had appeared prior to Sunday night. "It's not the best way to do this, obviously, but we don't have a choice. I'm not going to play him every night. I'm just going to play him in three or four games and then get him ready for the playoffs."

Rivers said he toyed with the idea of starting O'Neal, but then rejected it because "we have to have some kind of rhythm to start the game." He also said he had always assumed O'Neal would be back; he just didn't know when.

"Well you think about that, but not much," Rivers said. "I was concerned that [there was] a chance that he may not have been able to play until the playoffs. That crept in my mind. I always thought he would play. I was pretty sure of that, I just didn't know when. So that was the concern more than anything."

Rivers said he was largely going by the advice of the team's medical people to get O'Neal back on the floor. Prior to the game, O'Neal was seen walking through the locker room, barefoot. In the last 10 days, he had worn a protective boot on the right foot after receiving a cortisone shot.

"We were going to play him, regardless," Rivers said. "He was ready. He has been working out the last couple weeks. He hasn't gone down the bad road, which is good. So it's time to put him on the floor."

Rivers joked that O'Neal worked out at the Celtics' practice facility on Saturday -- an off day for the team after having played consecutive nights in San Antonio and Atlanta.

"He worked out against the cones," Rivers said. "And he was a dominant force."

While the Celtics welcomed O'Neal back Sunday, the team was still without fellow big men Nenad Krstic and Troy Murphy. Rivers suggested both could return as early as Tuesday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

112288

Well now we pretty well know that Shaquille wont be part in any serious way of our playoff rotation.

Still getting Kristic back if he plays well, KG stays on a tear and Ray gets back to being Ray I like the team we have. I dont think we will win it but I do think we are in the conversation and thats still pretty good.

I thought Kristic was done that shit looked awful.

We have has just awful luck with injuries this year but it could always be worse.

JEB,

Ya, we'll hang around for a while but I guess this could be it for the season. Problem is Danny gambled on an aging center who gave his heart but his body gave up. Also they traded for Jeff Green, a player who Doc does not how to use.
That really does not help us and opposite Danny's spin. Don't take what I said about not knowing how to use Green, there Tommy's feelings as well in which he stated tonight during the broadcast.

112288

I'm not convinced he is done yet.

Hope your right Pete...saying prayers!!!!

112288

Gary Washburn wrote:There was a sense of relief, however, that O'Neal didn't re-aggravate the Achilles tendon injury that sidelined him previously.

I suppose there's no harm in trying to find a silver lining, but being glad that it's not the Achilles seems like a reach. After all, the Achilles and calf are essentially a connected unit, so it's no coincidence that he's had trouble with one after injuring the other.

The injury report on si.com lists Shaq with "right calf soreness" at the beginning of December (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/teams/boston-celtics/injuries.html), so he's been dealing with this issue for four months. I'm sorry to say it, but if he couldn't go more than six minutes without reinjuring it after rehabbing since February 1, the team can't plan on him being available at all in the playoffs, and the fact that he strained the calf today instead of the tendon seems irrelevant.

Once Murphy gets back, they better get him in the flow of things, because I think they're going to need him.

Outside

Too soon to say if Shaq is done; this is not uncommon for an athlete who has been out for a while. To compound the issue you have a big man, 7 feet and 300 pounds worth, who might injure himself like this by favoring other injuries. The fact is however that Shaq has been breaking down little by little for years. We got our money's worth out of him when he filled the center spot earlier this season and quite frankly I doubt we really will need him for the playoffs. If we have his services it will be a bonus though.

We're going to have to depend on increased quickness and more consistent production from the offense in the postseason. Neither of those come from Shaq anyway.

NYCelt wrote:We're going to have to depend on increased quickness and more consistent production from the offense in the postseason. Neither of those come from Shaq anyway.

Now that's the way to find a silver lining!

Nyc

If we manage to get to the finals it's likely the Lakers will be there too. Without Shaq they will be too big for us (as they were last year)

It's just my opinion but there is no way in hell this team can RELY on outscoring any of the real good teams in a 7 game series.

I actually think if we started today playing them we could give the Lakers hell. But we also have to beat the bulls AND the Heat. In comparison the west is a cakewalk.

I will pull for the Celts to my last breath but without MARKED improvement I dont see it. We needed Shaq, jon AND Kristic to beat the effin giant huge hated Lakers.

jeb wrote:Nyc

If we manage to get to the finals it's likely the Lakers will be there too. Without Shaq they will be too big for us (as they were last year)

It's just my opinion but there is no way in hell this team can RELY on outscoring any of the real good teams in a 7 game series.

I actually think if we started today playing them we could give the Lakers hell. But we also have to beat the bulls AND the Heat. In comparison the west is a cakewalk.

I will pull for the Celts to my last breath but without MARKED improvement I dont see it. We needed Shaq, jon AND Kristic to beat the effin giant huge hated Lakers.

Jeb,

And just how exactly do you feel about The Lakers? ...kidding of course!

My thinking, and a point I've brought up here often over the last month, is that there are only two teams where size arguably matters (insert joke here); Orlando and The Lakers. You're talking about Howard and Bynum and one way to beat the problem those two present is to drag them out toward the perimeter and force them to defend there.

I think Krstic and Davis are the answer to drawing those two big centers out and a better answer all-around against Chicago and Miami. Against the Bulls or Heat I would expect Green to be a more important part of the rotation than either Shaq or JON. As a matter of fact against the Bulls or Heat I could even see Shaq being a liability.

I'm a realist and I don't think our road to the championship will be easy or assured but I think success has less to do with Shaq or JON than many might expect.

By the way, just a friendly reminder; we were within about 4 minutes last June of winning the title. We built a big lead without a size advantage and nobody can say if we would have held it with Perkins in there.

Just my realistic/cautiously optimistic view anyway.

Regards

by god nyc thats a damn good point!

Let me ponder it a tad and i will come back at you!

jeb wrote:by god nyc thats a damn good point!

Let me ponder it a tad and i will come back at you!

You're an excellent debate partner Jeb! Tenacious as they come. I'm glad we're debating two different angles from the same side. Don't forget to go back and check my edit!

Regards

Outside wrote:

NYCelt wrote:We're going to have to depend on increased quickness and more consistent production from the offense in the postseason. Neither of those come from Shaq anyway.

Now that's the way to find a silver lining!

Well, I try and call 'em like I see 'em. Problem is the light keeps changing.

Plus if Kobe trys to take over the offense and take nearly 50% of the starters shots (27-30 for the rest) the lakes might be in for a problem.

Gasol only 10 shots?

Lotts hoops to be played before getting to worked up about the finals.

Denver has been playing quite well too.

beat

I'm just worried on controlling the boards> That's is why we lost game 7. Miami is looking to sign Ed Curry for the playoffs. They say he is 350-375lbs.

Boy everyone is up early........are we not late for work?

112288

112288 wrote:I'm just worried on controlling the boards> That's is why we lost game 7. Miami is looking to sign Ed Curry for the playoffs. They say he is 350-375lbs.

Boy everyone is up early........are we not late for work?

112288

The only boards Curry could control are smorgasboards...

NYc

Dont you think that Green holds the keys? If Doc and the rest of the Celtics can figure out a way or many ways to use him to the max I think we can beat anybody.

Seems to me he is only hitting on about two cylinders right now and we need him bangin on 8.

Like Sam says when a teams shows it can do something once the it's established that they have that skill or skill set in their bag o trix. We know the defense is going to be there when it counts so some damn how some damn way we have to figure out these sonofabitch scoring droughts!

Food for thought.
Jeb

jeb wrote:NYc

Dont you think that Green holds the keys? If Doc and the rest of the Celtics can figure out a way or many ways to use him to the max I think we can beat anybody.

Seems to me he is only hitting on about two cylinders right now and we need him bangin on 8.

Like Sam says when a teams shows it can do something once the it's established that they have that skill or skill set in their bag o trix. We know the defense is going to be there when it counts so some damn how some damn way we have to figure out these sonofabitch scoring droughts!

Food for thought.
Jeb

Jeb,

I would agree with you that Green could be the difference maker.

We will encounter several strong 3's and mobile 4's throughout the playoffs and need the depth he provides.

Are you thinking that he might be a possible solution to the scoring droughts with his ability to get up the court so quickly? It would seem like one fix.

Regards

jeb wrote:Dont you think that Green holds the keys?

I think Green is a luxury, and one that I agree - Doc still needs to sort out. But the Celtics were a pretty good team without Green (and Perk) when they were getting 15 mpg from Shaq. He is the key IMO.

Damn Kleen I hope not buddy. I fear we wont get much from him. He has been off 20 games and couldnt play 5 minutes.

I sure hope he can play but I dont really see it. The playoffs are brutal and any weakness will be exploited by the other team.

And nyc I think if we can get double figures from Green it would sure help to solve those droughts. For a team with so much firepower I am at a loss as to why we can go 6 minutes without scoring. It' like the ball just stops.

Best to both of yall.

Jeb

You too Jeb.

How you feeling bud?

Kleen

Getting to the middle of radiation. Feel nauseous all the time and have lost an alarming amount of weight. Thank God I had it to lose but I got to quit losing weight. My spirits are up an down and the days start to run together in sameness. But what I have to focus on is that I am not losing the fight in the big picture. That damn tumor has not grown any.

I am looking to a time when I will be hungry and cancer/pain free. For real if my doctors buy me a couple of healthy (like playing tennis healthy) years then it will have all been worth it. I just try my best to take it an hour at a time.

Jeb

Jeb

If positive feelings and good vibes help at all...you will be healthy soon, as you surely have an abundance of love being sent your way.

Now lets hope the C's get back on track and give you a few months of playoff enjoyment to keep your mind occupied.

Best Wishes my friend,

Paul