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9 days ago

Paul Pierce’s Contract: Dispelling The Myths and Stating The Facts

The first domino to fall this offseason is Paul Pierce’s contract. Until Danny Ainge figures out what he’s doing there, little else matters. As we wait for this decision, we also must face the rest of the offseason, which means it is also rumor season. With that time of year, comes plenty of information floating [...]

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9 days ago

Final Grade: Avery Bradley (C+)

In his third year in the league, in which promising players often make brash leaps from benchwarmer to starter, from starter to star, Avery Bradley took a big step back. But his regression might be deceptive. When he returned to the Celtics’ lineup on January the 2nd after two in-season months recovering from offseason shoulder [...]

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9 days ago

Danny Ainge Expects Doc Rivers & Kevin Garnett To Return, Unsure About Paul Pierce

A long, challenging offseason awaits Danny Ainge this summer. Before he dives in head first, he joined Salk and Holley on WEEI-FM 93.7 to discuss the multitude of decisions facing him this offseason, as well as the progress of Rajon Rondo in his rehab from ACL surgery. A few of the notable highlights from the interview. Ainge [...]

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9 days ago

Suns Hire Away Celtics’ Assistant GM Ryan McDonough

In one way or another, there will be change this offseason in Boston. That process started in the past couple days, with the first piece moving out coming as a name most C’s fans might not be familiar with. Yet, it was Celtics’ assistant general manager Ryan McDonough, one of Danny Ainge’s top lieutenants, who [...]

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11 days ago

Doc Rivers Finishes 13th in Coach of the Year Voting

It was a tough season for the Boston Celtics, and that includes for head coach Doc Rivers. The long-time coach battled to find the right fit for a lot of new pieces that were both underperforming and/or failed to pick up his schemes on both ends of the floor. Naturally, an unfortunate plethora of injuries [...]

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12 days ago

Overconfident Answers To Offseason Questions (Part 1)

It seems like every offseason since 2010 we’ve been through this: a myriad of questions and concerns about the Celtics’ roster that usually involve the possibility of the core of the team being dismantled. As we head into the summer of 2013, we’ve got a whole batch of questions, many of which will be familiar.  [...]

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20-25 Minutes for Shaq?

It’s only the second day of training camp and already we have a Glen Davis v. Doc Rivers faux-controversy (we’ll get to that later today) and now this:

“Shaquille O’Neal said he would have no trouble adjusting to his role with his new team, saying he expected to play 20-25 minutes a game.” (AP via ESPN.com)

I have  a hard time believing Shaquille O’Neal is going to be playing 20-25 minutes a night.  Last season, he only played in 53 games and averaged 23.4 minutes as a starter.  Shaq is also not likely to be the first guy off the bench, especially when Kendrick Perkins returns from injury.  If the Celtics follow a similar model to last year’s rotation, they will opt for a stretch four off the bench a la Rasheed Wallace.  This will likely end up being Jermaine O’Neal or Glen Davis.

To put Shaq’s prediction in perspective, last season Rasheed Wallace averaged 22.5 minutes a game, Glen Davis averaged 17 minutes a game, and Jermaine O’Neal averaged 28.4 minutes a game.  That’s a lot of minutes for Doc Rivers to manage and  when it is all said and done, Shaq will average around 18 minutes a game (all numbers provided by Basketball-Reference.com).

It may seem like a small distinction but with a locker room with so many egos needing to be managed, it’s not something to take lightly.  Luckily, while I believe Shaq will play less than he wants,  he’ll also be a valuable contributor against the league’s larger bodies.

What do you guys think?  How many minutes do you see Shaq playing?  Do you see minutes as being a point of contention throughout the season?

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