The Celtics welcomed back Jermaine O'Neal to practice Saturday, but they were without Shaquille O'Neal who was resting his hip. "That will be an issue on and off at times," Doc Rivers said of Shaq. "We’re prepared for that."
All the more reason to keep Shaq on the bench. I know Jermaine O'Neal isn't exactly injury-proof… but if Shaq is going to need to sit from time to time, then you might as well have Jermaine in the starting lineup to maintain some level of continuity with the starters.
On the plus side, Semih Erden has shown that he might be an option to get 10 or 15 minutes should Shaq need a day off here and there before Perk is ready. I'm still not 100% sold on Semih getting much burn since it's only been two preseason games… but he's at least proven that he's worth keeping an eye on.
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