With all the injuries the Celtics are having, it’s something of a minor miracle that Shaquille O’Neal has appeared in 30 of their 39 games. They never know from day to day if Shaq will be able to play. Asked why, Doc Rivers responded, “Cause he’s old as hell.”
It’s to his considerable credit that Shaq has played as much as he has. The problem is that in his last 11 games he hasn’t been very effective. He’s averaged less than seven points and just a tick over two rebounds per game, while dealing with what seems like constant foul trouble.
The Celtics have learned that when Shaq has it going they can feed him in the post, but they have also learned that they don’t have to rely on him to win games. They needed him Friday night against the Bobcats.
Without Kevin Garnett and Jermaine O’Neal and with a frontline that featured just four players including two rookies in Luke Harangody and Semih Erden, Shaq had to give the Celtics something. That need became even more pressing when Erden picked up three fouls in his first three minutes on the court.
What they got from O’Neal was 23 points on 10-for-12 shooting -- and perhaps most importantly -- they also got a season-high 35 minutes in a 99-94 win (click here for a full recap).
“We had so many fouls I couldn’t have drawn up a worse plan for our team today as far as what happened,” Doc Rivers said. “I told him, ‘We need you tonight.’ We did a great job of not forcing it to him but letting it come to him in the flow.”
As for the minutes, that certainly wasn’t an optimal situation. Shaq has played 30 minutes just two other times this season and Rivers likes to keep him around 20-22 per game.
“It’s just too many minutes,” Rivers said. “We just had no choice. It’s not a big deal for one night. It came at the right moment.”
Here are three key takeaways:
THE CELTICS ARE A GAME-TO-GAME PROPOSITION RIGHT NOW
The Celtics have won two straight since dropping back-to-back games against the Bulls and Rockets. Rivers had wanted his team to take a stand after the Houston game, but with so many injuries they are simply in survival mode.
“We’re just trying to piece the right group together, see who’s going to play and then we’re trying to go out and win a game,” Rivers said before the game. “As a coaching staff that’s how we’re preparing. We just have to be ready for it because anything can happen.”
During their pre-game preparations, Rivers and his coaches were laughing at the possible lineups they might have to use, but they weren’t laughing when Paul Pierce got into early foul trouble. And nobody was laughing when Erden couldn’t stay on the floor.
That’s just the way it is right now. They still hope to get Garnett back on Monday, but it’s still weeks before Kendrick Perkins and Delonte West will be able to return.
The bench didn’t provide much in the way of offense (just nine points), but Marquis Daniels soaked up 28 minutes of court time and Luke Harangody gave them four rebounds in 14 minutes.
Rivers went small with Glen Davis at center and Pierce and Marquis Daniels as the forwards, which didn’t help them on the boards (they were outrebounded 42-29 and gave up 13 offensive rebounds), but did help establish a better pace.
“It’s harder to defend,” Rajon Rondo said. “I love the smaller lineup. I love playing with that rotation.”
Every day is a new challenge for these Celtics, and unlike last season, they are responding to it. At least for now.
RAJON RONDO’S UNDER-THE-RADAR GREAT GAME
It’s hard to pass unnoticed when you score 18 points and have 13 assists, but Rajon Rondo was almost an afterthought. He shouldn’t have been.
“I thought Rondo was sensational tonight,” Rivers said. “He had a quarterback game tonight.”
Rondo was a model of efficiency, making 7-of-11 shots, as well as a couple of clutch free throws, and he had only two turnovers. He consistently made the right reads on pick and rolls and he had the Charlotte big men guessing where he was going to go with his passes.
At halftime Rivers told him to increase the pace. It had been an ugly grind-it-out game to that point with a parade of Charlotte players going to the free throw line. That’s obviously not the point guard’s fault, but it is his responsibility to try to change the flow of the game.
“Doc didn’t like our pace,” Rondo said. “Obviously we fouled a lot. You can’t get a pace if you’re taking the ball out of bounds every time.”
The Celtics stopped fouling, somewhat, and when they got stops Rondo got them up the court and into their sets quicker. While they want to score in transition as much as possible, the Celtics are not a running team. But for their offense to function, they need to be on the move and Rondo was able to establish that.
“There were a couple of things that I didn’t see and I like what he saw better and we went with it,” Rivers said. “Those are good nights for a coach.”
JERMAINE O’NEAL’S DECISION
This is the situation that Jermaine O’Neal faces: He can have surgery, which will probably keep him out for the rest of the regular season and leave serious doubt about his ability to be ready for the playoffs, or he can continue to play through the knee pain that has made it impossible for him to function at times. 
He has consulted with the Celtics team doctors and he will seek a second opinion on Monday. On Tuesday, he’ll decide what he’s going to do. If he has the surgery it will likely keep him out for 2-3 months. That could put him back in time for the playoffs, but that’s not accounting for the lost conditioning, timing and all the other factors that come into play.
“If it means two months or more, that’s basically it,” Rivers said. “Everyone thinks when you say two months that means you play in two months. No, that means you start working out in two months. If you’re coming back in April and you haven’t played all year there’s a very low chance that you’re going to help us.”
If O’Neal had his way he would delay the surgery and try to get through the rest of the season as best he can, but he may not have that choice.
“There are some days when I can’t even walk up the stairs,” O’Neal said. “I’m 32 years old. I think about that a lot, but right now I’m going to deal with the Celtics and helping this team win. I’ll deal with everything else after the season.”
O’Neal was vague about the nature of the knee injury and what kind of surgery he may need, but he did say that he has his knee drained several times. There are not many options left. “It’s past that,” he said of any preventive procedures. “It’s far past that.”
O’Neal knows that people are frustrated about his injuries. He is too. The ironic thing is the swelling did go down prior to Friday’s game, but he couldn’t take a chance if surgery is indeed in his near future. “My preference is to play,” he said. “You don’t get this kind of opportunity [to play on a championship contender] very often.”