Shaq’s Season Looks To Be Over

Added on May 11, 2011 by Scott in

NBA

The lingering calf and Achilles injuries that have plagued Celtics center Shaquille O’Neal for months will likely end his season. O’Neal has been ruled doubtful for tonight’s Game 5 after aggravating the calf. He was able to play only 12 minutes in Games 3 and 4 and provided zero impact to an aging and wounded Boston team.

Head coach Doc Rivers has pretty much accepted the fact that Shaq won’t be available, even if the Celtics mount a furious comeback against the Heat to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Rivers expressed disappointment that O’Neal was never able to shake the injury bug.

“There’s nothing he can do,” said Rivers. “It’s not like he’s not trying. I told our team that [Tuesday], he’s done everything possibly he can do to get healthy. Unfortunately for him, he hasn’t been able to do it.”

The 39-year-old Shaq played in only 37 games this season and averaged 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds. He was supposed to add depth to a depleted Celtics front line and his presence factored in to the trade of 26-year-old reserve center Kendrick Perkins back in February. However, he saw action in just two games during the last three months of the regular season.

Time to wind the retirement watch for O’Neal. His declining health and fitness has turned him into a liability. Chasing another championship is fine, but that’s hard to do when you’re sitting in a trainer’s room for half the season and the playoffs.

Shaq is finishing off a Hall of Fame career, but he’s played more than 70 games once in the last seven years. At this point, walking away seems like the most sensible option. Nobody likes to watch a punch-drunk boxer who refuses to call it quits.

The Celtics are clinging to their postseason lives, trailing 3-1 to the Heat. A loss tonight will close out their season and could mark the end of a successful four-year run that resulted in two Finals appearances and a championship in 2008.

Source: ESPN.com