No, not Opening Day in Arlington.
The return of Shaquille O'Neal to the Celtics on Sunday evening went without a hitch for the first five minutes — the big man showed some muscle inside and an uncanny ability to put the ball in the hole, pouring in six points on perfect 3-of-3 shooting. But early in the second quarter, things went south.
Shaq limped off the floor with 11:11 left in the first half, heavily favoring his right leg and showing obvious signs of pain. The Celtics were down 29-26 at the time; they rallied without their Hall of Fame big man, coming back to bury the Detroit Pistons 101-90 and earn their 53rd win of the season.
The win was nice, but having their center back would be even nicer.
"It wasn't good to see that," Kevin Garnett said of Shaq's injury. "He'd been working his behind off to get back to this point. He had some momentum going. He definitely gave us a spark; it was good to see him out there. If you know Shaq, you know he's always in lively spirits, so to see him go like that was tough."
The Celtics didn't hang their heads — rather, they rallied to earn a nice win despite a depleted corps of big men. The C's didn't have Shaq and they didn't have Nenad Krstic, but they still got the job done. They put together two impressive runs to seal the deal — an 11-0 spree in the second quarter, and then 13-0 in the third.
And quietly, the Celtics did a few things to indicate they could survive without their 15-time All-Star.
The C's had a monster edge on the glass — 37-26. Four of them had six rebounds or more, led by Garnett with eight.
They led in points in the paint, 48-46. Again KG led the way, scoring 23 points on a remarkably efficient 10-of-14.
Jermaine O'Neal only played 18 minutes, but he emerged as a big-time post defender in his limited time. He held Chris Wilcox to a mere four points.
The C's showed that Shaq or no Shaq, they're stepping up and doing their jobs.
"I think everybody has to be a little more aggressive coming down the stretch," Garnett said. "Entering the playoffs, we've got to be consistent at a certain level, playing that way within the system."
Size can be a blessing and a curse — it helps you win games, but it also leaves you dangerously susceptible to injuries. Calves, knees, ankles and feet have been lingering concerns for the Celtics all season.
But wins like Sunday night against the Pistons can serve as a reminder — even when the Celtics don't have all their bigs, they still sometimes have enough to take care of business.
"I've kept saying, we have to have one of the O'Neal brothers," coach Doc Rivers said. "That's important. Krstic's important too. He has to be healthy. If we have that, then we do have size.
"We have to have one. I'll take two, but we have to have one of the O'Neal brothers."
When playoff time rolls around, the Celtics will have some combination of O'Neal, O'Neal, Garnett, Krstic and Glen Davis in their rotation as they set their sights on a championship. It's just hard at this point to know exactly how the pieces fit together. Figuring that out will be the team's biggest challenge between now and April 13, when the Celtics' roller-coaster regular season finally comes to a close.
"That's just going to be tough," Rivers said. "We just have to get everybody back on the same page rhythm-wise. As far as the rotation and the bench — I know it, it's set, but we've just got to get it together. We'll be ready if everyone's healthy. I can tell you I know it, I just haven't seen it. And that's fine."
