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"It's broken for sure," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "I don't know anything else more than that — a compound fracture, most likely. But that's going to be a long time, let's just put it that way."
Rivers suggested he'd simply hope to get West back in time for the playoffs, but Shaquille O'Neal took a more optimistic outlook.
"I'm not a doctor, but I'm going to say he's probably going to be out three months," said O'Neal, who was a teammate with West last season in Cleveland. "Luckily it's in his non-shooting hand and he's a tough kid, he'll probably want to come back next week and play. But it will probably be three months, right after the All-Star break, everybody will be back — big [Kendrick Perkins] will be back, [West will] be back, and we'll be ready to go."
Three months takes us to March. Assuming the Celtics will not need to rush him back, I would expect mid-March and that will give Delonte about 15 games to get back in game shape and ready for the playoffs.
Danny Ainge says the Celtics will not make a roster move. This injury re-opens the door for Von Wafer who played some inspired defense last night.
"Von Wafer — his stat line's going to say he did basically nothing — I thought his defensive energy was phenomenal," said Rivers. "It was great for Von in the locker room. Everybody was grabbing him . . . because ‘defense' and ‘Von' can now go together. And that's a great thing."
Kevin Garnett called Wafer "electric." Rivers watched his words of encouragement pay off.
"After the game [Doc] tapped me and said, 'See what I told you?' " Wafer told CSNNE.com. "So I've just got to stay ready and I'm just happy to be part of this. There's something special going on."
CSNNE – With West out, Wafer to see more time
As for Rondo's return, it appears he will play Tuesday vs Cleveland.
Related Links: Globe – West replacement not a given | CSNNE – West suffers broken wrist | Herald – Tough break for Delonte | With guard down, Daniels points way | SI – West injury a tough blow |
On Page 2, Shaq says this is the best team he's been on.
“I think people appreciate my hard work, especially over the last 18 years,” he said. “I think they understand that when I came here for the 1.5 (million dollars), they knew what was on my mind. For them, it’ll be 18 (championships). For the Big Three, it’ll be two (titles). And for me it’ll be Big No. 5. That’s the only thing that I’ll focus on right now.”
O’Neal has also passed an early judgment on his team.
“This is a great team, the best I’ve been on,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of great weapons on this team, so on any given night anybody can be the leading scorer. . . . Yes, the best team. As far as players, as far as guys being really close. I know we’ve only been at this for two months, but hopefully the outcome will be a good one.”
Herald – Shaq's gigantic effort
Shaq deserves all the praise he's getting for last night's effort. He went up against Brook Lopez, one of the top young centers in the game. And he destroyed him.
Related Links: Globe – O'Neal helps Celtics win | CSNNE – Shaq is just here to help | Garnett: He looked like the 2000 Shaq |
I almost forgot. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
The rest of the links: ESPN Boston – Turning back the clock | Globe – Cs big guns make three point landing | ESPN – Magic send Heat to 3rd straight loss | WEEI – NBA Turkey day special |
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