Shaq shines... then decides he's all set

Shaq came back with a bang, and then left with the crowd holding its collective breath. As he entered the game, everyone gave him a nice standing ovation. There was a good buzz in the building and it didn't take Shaq long to show he wasn't rusty, finishing at the hoop off a nice feed from Rondo. In his 6 minutes of game time Shaq was all over the court. He didn't miss any of his 3 field goals which included an up and under layup (pretty tough for a guy his size).

But early in the second quarter Shaq turned to run up court and came up limping. He turned around at first, almost like he thought someone had kicked him. Right away Tommy was saying, "Uh oh. Uh oh. Uh oh!"

I was terrified. I couldn't believe it. Right when I was starting to see visions of Shaq battling down low for us in the playoffs, there he was barely able to get himself off the floor under his own power. My initial thought was that this was the last we'd see from him this year.

I watched the next several minutes of the game in complete silence. Then Greg Dickerson came on and gave us an update that it was not achilles tendon that he had previously injured, but instead it appeared to be a right calf strain. I actually laughed out loud. A legitimate sigh of relief. It seemed way too good to be true. Still not sure if I buy it or not. If he's back at any point for the playoffs I'll be happy at this point.

But still, the game had to go on. The rest of the Celtics didn't let it suck the life out of them (as KG's injury earlier in the season against the Pistons had done). They kept fighting and eventually closed it out, winning 101-90.

Their hot shooting (64%) saved them from what otherwise would have been a sloppy loss to a bad team. They had 19 turnovers. Rondo had 14 assists but sometimes it can get to his head and he tries to be just a little too fancy. When it works no one loves it more than me. But just make the simple play. I should coach right?

Apparently theres video of Shaq walking out of the arena without crutches or a boot. And Doc says its not a bad strain. I should have read that before I wrote this blog. Whatever.