Stephen A.: I believe Sheed returns to C's

Veteran columnist and radio host Stephen A. Smith joined the Dennis & Callahan show Monday morning to talk about the Celtics and NBA news.

Smith made news recently by speculating that Rasheed Wallace would end his retirement and return to the Celtics. Smith explained that Wallace indicated last June — when the player talked about his retirement — that he would consider returning after the trade deadline this season.

"He was alluding [in June] to coming back once the trading deadline expired if the Celtics needed him, that he would think about it," Smith said. "And throughout this year, he had been saying one day, he wants to come back, the other day, he doesn't want to come back. … He was going back and forth throughout the year. One day he wants to come back, another day he doesn't want to come back. One minute he's thinking about going to Orlando, the next minute he misses all the boys he was with in Boston last year.

"So, I simply said I think he's going to end up coming back to Boston, because I believe that Boston is going to be the team that fights the Lakers for the world championship, and I believe that Doc Rivers is the ultimate motivator. And I think if you have an opportunity to play for Doc Rivers for a couple of months, that's not something that you're going to turn down. I still believe that. I still believe that Rasheed Wallace is going to come back."

Smith called the trade of Kendrick Perkins to the Thunder "a devasating blow" to Boston, but he remains convinced that the Celtics will beat the Heat and win the Eastern Conference en route to an NBA title. Smith said he can't pick a team that starts Erick Dampier at center, and that the Celtics can slow the games down, taking away the Heat's uptempo style.

"If [the Celtics] play the kind of defense they always play, I can't see how the Miami Heat can beat them in a seven-game series," he said.

Added Smith: "I believe in Shaquille O'Neal and Jermaine O'Neal, and I think somehow, someway, specifically Shaquille O'Neal can offset the loss of Kendrick Perkins. And I think that will be enough to get you back to the NBA finals, where I believe they will beat the Los Angeles Lakers."

To read more highlights from the conversation, go the Green Street blog [1]. To hear the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page [2]. For more Celtics news, visit the team page at weei.com/celtics [3].