“And for the Celtics, I can tell you this much, it was not a unanimous
decision. This is not something that the entire front office and
coaching staff entirely agreed upon. But it is a Danny Ainge type of move. He’s taken risks like this in the past, whether it’s Gary Payton or Stephon Marbury or Nate Robinson
this past year. He’s taken chances on guys he thinks can help put them
over the top. Danny obviously is convinced that Shaq is what this team
needs right now.”
Chief among the C's concerns, as Mannix puts it, is that Shaq is "the worst pick-and-roll defender of all time." and the entire C's defense is predicated on defending the pick and roll.
Also, he's not one to exactly space the floor on offense, which means Rondo could have some issues running into Shaq and his man.
Those are valid points… but they don't take into account one thing: Shaq's a bench player now. Shaq's a limited minutes kinda guy. Yes, the Celtics are going to have to redesign a couple of things because it's hard to ask a 38 year old, 350 pound behemoth to play the C's style of swarming D. That's just not gonna happen.
So the coaches have a challenge when Shaq's on the floor. But they're smart guys… let's see how they figure things out.
Hey Lawrence Frank… welcome to Boston. Have fun redesigning what has worked for 3 years to accommodate an aging, enigmatic giant.
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