Most Celtics fans would have been perfectly happy to stand pat after the solid start to the team's offseason rebuilding process. The C's drafted well. They retained Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Nate Robinson — and perhaps more importantly, coach Doc Rivers. And in Jermaine O'Neal, they brought in a perfectly suitable replacement for Kendrick Perkins, a defense-first center that could protect the rim until sometime in 2011 when the big fella returned.
The Celtics had a good June and a great July. It looked like everything would be fine if they just stopped there.
But unbeknownst to many, they had big plans for August, too. They brought in their second O'Neal on Aug. 4, a surprising addition to a roster that already looked like a finish product. Was Shaq the Big Shamrock, or the Big Overkill?
It was unknown at first. The signing seemed risky — what if Shaq tried to dominate the Celtics' offense? What if he commandeered the team's culture in the locker room? What if one bad signing left a black mark on all of Danny Ainge's hard work?
The Celtics were taking a risk.
"I honestly didn't know what to expect," Rivers later admitted. "I would love to tell you that I did, but I really didn't. I saw him last year in Cleveland, and there were games last year where he looked pretty good, and there then were games that he didn't. I didn't know. I knew we were getting size, but that's about it."
That's what Shaq meant at first — size. The Celtics lost in the NBA Finals last June because the Lakers had it and they didn't. Perk went down, and the Celtics didn't have a backup plan. So they went out this summer and got two of them, both named O'Neal.
While one O'Neal has been on the inactive list, without so much as a timetable for a return, the other has been killing it in the low post like it's 1999. He's been a dominant scorer in the first and fourth quarters every night. He led the Celtics to a win Wednesday night, carrying them with 25 points and 11 rebounds to beat the Nets. He's not getting big minutes, but he's making big contributions anyway. He's far exceeding everyone's expectations.
And he even sounds pretty modest about it, all things considered.
"It's not that I'm carrying the load," O'Neal insisted. "I'm playing with a lot of great guys. It's not all on me. When Paul goes to the hole, you've got to pay attention. I’m just getting easy baskets. At 38, that’s kind of how I want it. I'm not trying to take 30 or 40 shots. But when the guys give it to me for five, six, or eight shots, I’ve just got to finish all the time."
A decade ago, Shaq's job was to take over the game — every game — without fail. He can't do that anymore, but he's adjusted beautifully to a new role, and he's been the most pleasant surprise the Celtics have seen in a long time.
Five months ago, the Celtics were wondering, quite literally, where they'd be without Kendrick Perkins. Now, they can wonder hypothetically — where would they be without Shaquille O'Neal?
"We'd be in trouble," Rivers said. "We'd be in a lot of trouble."
