Boston Celtics receive a timely boost; Shaquille O’Neal likely to be back against the Miami Heat
The Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers is hopeful that Shaquille O’Neal will join the squad on Friday. Rivers revealed that O’Neal would do a “skeleton” workout on Thursday
and if that goes well he could join the rest of the team on Friday.
Shaquille O’Neal was acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers at the start of the season. After failing to cope up with the Lakers’ big men in the finals of the last
season, his arrival was seen as a way to shore up the Celtics defence against teams with powerful big men.
O’Neal has also been a prolific scorer in his glittering career although age and injury have slowed him down recently. He has established himself as one of the greatest
players in basketball history, especially in his position of centre. He has astonishing career averages of 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. On the offensive end, he has been devastating with 23.7 points on 0.582 field goal accuracy, the second highest
field goal accuracy in the history of the game. The multiple times MVP has 4 NBA Championship rings under his belt already. O’Neal was also a main component of the Los Angeles Lakers side that won three consecutive NBA world championships from 2000 to 2002.
During his time there he formed an unstoppable duo with Kobe Bryant, who is still with the franchise.
O’Neal has been plagued by injury since arriving in Boston. He has only featured for 5 minutes and 29 seconds since February due to an injured right calf and Achilles
tendon. His progress has been closely monitored by the Celts and he is now expected to be back soon.
The Celtics didn’t need him in the first round of the playoffs where they swept the New York Knicks. However they will certainly need him, in their 2nd
round matchup, when they come face to face against one of the hottest teams in NBA, the Miami Heat. Heat have star players like LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade – a trio that can tear any defense apart.
O’Neal played alongside Dwyane Wade as he led the Miami Heat to an NBA world championship crown in 2006. He played for two seasons with King James in Cleveland and
knows his game inside out. So when the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals start, the Celtics will be desperate for Shaquille O’Neal to return to the side.
The series has been built up as titanic battle and fans have been anticipating the matchup since the start of the season when Miami acquired the superstar LeBron
James and Chris Bosh. Alongside Dwyane Wade, they are known as the Big Three of Miami and are sure to give Boston Celtics a tough time. Miami finished higher in the Eastern Conference and beat the Celtics 100-77 in the final days of the regular season.
Boston will be looking to use the experience of Shaquille and could do well with his strong presence beneath the rim. Shaquille also has valuable insight on the Miami
Heat, having played alongside Wade and James.
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