Future Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal Might Not Come Back After Latest Injury
We have not seen a lot of Shaq this season but the Celtics certainly could use his help.
The big 39-year old became a major player in the Celtic’s postseason plans after they sent Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City.
In return the Celtics replaced Perkins with Nenad Kristic, but he is currently day-to-day with a bone bruise.
As for the Celtics other big man, Jermaine O’Neal, he’s played in a whopping 20 games this season and is averaging an excitable five points and 3.6 rebounds.
Shaq joined the Celtics in an effort to capture one more NBA title, but is now one of the most important pieces to the puzzle this year.
We do not know how long “The Man of Steel” will be out for this time, but Jimmy Golen’s report on Boston.com brought up a great point:
“He missed a week in November with a bruised right knee, a week in December with a calf injury and another in January with a sore right hip. He returned for three games — a total of about 34 minutes — before missing the next 27 games with what the team officially has called a sore right leg. Although the injury was originally expected to keep him out just a few games, his absence stretched to more than two months.”
Translation: Shaq is simply too old and we do not know how long he will be sidelined once again.
His body is obviously not the same and while they do not need him to break backboards or put up 20 points a night, they desperately need his presence on the court in the upcoming postseason.
His performance this season will likely mark the end of his career (barring an insane comeback and performance in the postseason that is totally unexpected) as he will be hard pressed to find another team willing to give him a shot similar to the one the Celtics gave him this year.
As for the Celtics, they now face a situation that could severely damage their playoff chances.
Without Kendrick Perkins they have to rely heavily on Kristic and Shaq.
Shaq’s career, and the Celtics title hopes, may have ended with O’Neal limping off the court yesterday.
And for more on future NBA stars be sure to check out our latest mock draft.