Shaquille O'Neal isn't ready to play just yet, but he is back with the Celtics at their training facility in Waltham, and he's making baby steps toward a return.
The 38-year-old center, who turns 39 this weekend, took the floor and briefly took part in non-contact drills, working on coach Doc Rivers' offensive schemes.
"Shaq did some skeleton today, which was great," Rivers said. "That was good, to see him out on the floor. The pieces are slowly coming back, and it'd be nice if we could get them all back."
O'Neal has been out since Feb. 1 with an inflamed Achilles. Rivers hopes the center is staying healthy and in good shape, but he admits that's difficult to gauge.
"With Shaq, I don't know what 'looking like good shape' means," Rivers said. "He does look thinner. He does look good, but I don't know. I can't tell, that's so tough."
O'Neal is likely still a week away from returning to game action with the Celtics.
