Shaq joining TNT's Inside the NBA

Rumors of Shaquille O'Neal joining TNT as an on-air personality had been in the air for weeks and now it's official: the Diesel will join Inside the NBA next season.

Looking beyond the fact that Shaq mailed in the last five years or so of his career and he's one of the biggest self-promoting clowns in the history of Earth, this actually should be a successful marriage.

Inside the NBA with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley is easily the best NBA related coverage on TV and some of the best sports coverage overall. I'm not a big NBA fan at all, other than watching the Boston Celtics, but even a casual NBA fan cannot deny that Inside the NBA is wildly entertaining. The chemistry between those three guys is perfect and it's enough to cover up for stiffs like Chris Webber, Magic Johnson, etc. that randomly show up at times.

Shaq can be pretty funny when he stops trying so hard and I think that he'll bring a fresh prospective to the broadcasts since he's just retired from the NBA. Of course, that's assuming there is a season beginning in October (the NBA Lockout is in full effect). We shall see about that; just from the NFL Lockout talks, I can't listen to one second of that crap but the general opinion seems to be that the NBA might miss this upcoming season or it will be shortened.

Regardless, Shaquille O'Neal will make for some good television on TNT.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet

Shaq is going to be such a monster in the wheelchair basketball league

If you had a ticket to last night's miserable matchup of the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons, you might have seen some history at the TD Garden.

Shaquille O'Neal returned to action after missing more than two months, scored six points in five minutes then promptly pulled up lame with another injury-strained calf.

The Celtics (53-23) won 101-90 over the Pistons (26-50) but I wouldn't be surprised if that was the Diesel's final NBA game. How much does he have left in the tank? And what does his worn out body have left to prove?

It's too bad that his injury overshadowed the team's win. If you've been paying attention at all this season, you had to know something like that would happen to Shaq. He simply can't stay healthy anymore.

Kevin Garnett led Boston with 23 points and eight rebounds while Paul Pierce had 22 points. Rajon Rondo handed out 14 assists and Ray Allen added 13 points. Delonte West (10 points, 5 assists) and Glen Davis (11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) were solid off the bench.

Will Bynum paced the Pistons with 20 points. Tayshaun Prince had 16 points, Richard Hamilton scored 14 and Greg Monroe had 11 points. Charlie Villanueva put up 15 points off the bench.

Troy Murphy and Nenad Krstic (who's much more important than Shaq) could both return tomorrow night as Boston hosts Philadelphia in a possible first-round playoff matchup. Krstic got the good news over the weekend that he didn't tear anything in his knee.

Your mom and grandma's favorite Celtic helps the team wake up and beat the Pistons

As they sleepwalked through a meaningless game vs. the Detroit Pistons last night at the TD Garden, it was obvious that the Boston Celtics needed a spark.

38-year-old Shaquille O'Neal was the unlikely force behind a strong fourth quarter (28-21) to help the Celts overcome an eight-point deficit and win 86-82.

Kevin Garnett (11 points, 6 rebounds) looked like the rusty player who just came back from an injury, the expected letdown after his performance on Monday vs. the Orlando Magic-a much bigger game against a fellow contender.

Paul Pierce (game-high 22 points) was the only Celtic (32-9) that really seemed to be focused that is until Shaq carried the team on his broad shoulders in the fourth quarter.

I'll admit that when Boston picked up Shaq in the off-season, I figured it was nothing more than a heady PR move but I've been pleasantly surprised. When he plays (a big if), he has been unselfish and brought some inside presence that they've desperately needed with Kendrick Perkins, Jermaine O'Neal and KG out at various times.

Last night was Shaq's best game for the Celts. He was diving on the court for loose balls, blocking shots (2), stealing the ball (3) and posting a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Ray Allen was held to seven points although as he usually does, he made a dagger long 2-pointer that was the biggest shot of the game. Rajon Rondo was also limited to six points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Glen Davis had 11 points and six rebounds for the bench which was short-handed after Marquis Daniels left in the second quarter with a sprained ankle.

Detroit (15-27) came in on a three-game winning streak but let's be honest: they're a complete mess. Richard Hamilton is due to be traded but right now he's rotting on the bench and getting DNPs.

Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 15 points, Greg Monroe (9 rebounds) and Tayshaun Prince added 13 points apiece, Charlie Villanueva had 11 points and Ben Gordon notched 10 points.

Try not to fall asleep as I describe this borefest. The teams were tied at 22 after one quarter and Detroit was up 45-42 at halftime. Both only managed 16 points in an ugly third quarter before the Cs finally decided to play for a few minutes in the fourth.

Boston shot 44.7% to Detroit's 41.9%. They each hit four 3-pointers and the Pistons made two more free throws (16-14). The Celts pulled down 13 more rebounds (47-34) while the Pistons had four more steals (9-5), one more block (6-5) and four less turnovers (17-13). Detroit had three more fast break points (12-9) but thanks to Shaq, the Celts had eight more points in the paint (50-42).

Things figure to get much more interesting and exciting tomorrow night as the Utah Jazz visit the Garden. Former Celtics young gun Al Jefferson has finally found a good team to play on and point guard Deron Williams is arguably the best in the NBA. Should be a good one, wish I was going!

Oh that's right, Shaq plays for the Boston Celtics

They don't play often but I feel like the Boston Celtics own the Charlotte Bobcats as much as any other opponent in the NBA. The games between the two are always blowouts.

Last night was closer as the Celts (30-9) won 99-95 at the TD Garden over the Bobcats (15-22), who came in riding a four-game win streak.

It was a particularly dull game that was completely forgettable save for a rare big showing from Shaquille O'Neal. With our front court short-handed and in foul trouble on top of that, the Diesel went a season-high 35 minutes and produced 23 points, five rebounds and five blocks.

Rajon Rondo added 18 points and 13 assists while Paul Pierce and Ray Allen each notched 19 points. Glen Davis had 11 points but Boston's bench combined for just nine points.

Charlotte must be one of the most boring teams in the league, even under new (but old) head coach Paul Silas. Like why would you ever want to go see the Bobcats in action?

Gerald Wallace led the Bobcats with 20 points, D.J. Augistin had 19 points, Stephen Jackson scored 13 points and a fat Boris Diaw added 11 points.

It was tied at 24 after the first quarter and 42 all at halftime. Boston went ahead with a 27-24 third quarter and outscored Charlotte by a basket (30-28) in the fourth.

For the game, the Celts shot 52.2% to 42.1% for the Bobcats. Boston made five more 3-pointers (8-3) while Charlotte hit eight more free throws (27-19) and grabbed 13 more rebounds (42-29) which is pathetic. Thanks to Rondo as always, Boston had seven more assists (22-15) while the Bobcats recorded two more steals (5-3). Shaq helped the Cs get six more blocks (8-2) and six more points in the paint (44-38).

Things figure to pick up on Monday as the Orlando Magic come to town. (Fingers crossed) Kevin Garnet

The most random 14-game win streak you'll ever see

There's no other way to explain the Boston Celtics' latest win streak (their fifth longest in the franchise's glorious history) besides the health and remarkable play by the Big Three: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

Boston (23-4) didn't even play well last night other than a key stretch in the fourth quarter and that was enough to get by the Philadelphia 76ers, 84-80 at TD Garden. The Celtics won their 14th straight game, the longest streak in the NBA so far this season.

Ray Allen led the Cs with a game-high 22 points and six assists. Shaquille O'Neal added 13 points and nine rebounds, Kevin Garnett had 12 points and seven rebounds while Paul Pierce notched 11 points and Nate Robinson (still subbing for Rajon Rondo) had nine points.

Based mostly on their young talent and athleticism, the 76ers (11-18) are a tough matchup for the Celtics these days. Forget their record, they've played them as close as you can in the first two meetings this season.

Elton Brand led Philadelphia with 16 points and 12 rebounds, Jrue Holiday added 15 points, Louis Williams notched 12 points and ex-Celtic Tony Battie (yes, he still plays in the NBA) had 10 points, six rebounds and four blocks.

Philly shot 43.1% to Boston's 38.8%. 3-pointers were rare (6-2 for Celtics) and the Sixers made six more free throws (22-16). Boston had five more assists (19-14), four more steals (0-4) and three more rebounds (43-30). The Cs doubled up the Sixers on fastbreak points (14-7) and almost twice the amount of points in the paint (34-18).

The Celts get a couple days off before their Christmas meeting with the Magic in Orlando. It'll be a totally different look team since the Magic traded for Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Gilbert Arenas last week in two massive deals. They needed to shake something up since they're really starting to lag in the Eastern Conference behind the Celtics and (gulp) Miami Heat.

Pierce messes around, gets a triple-double in Boston's 13th straight victory

The steamroller known as the Boston Celtics continues to find ways to win (even without Rajon Rondo).

Yesterday afternoon, Paul Pierce notched a triple-double (18 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds) as the Celtics (22-4) won their 13th straight game, 99-88 over the Indiana Pacers (12-14) at TD Garden.

Nate Robinson and Glen Davis (off the bench) also added 18 points apiece for Boston. Ray Allen notched 17 points, six rebounds and six assists while Shaquille O'Neal had 11 points (all in the first quarter) and Kevin Garnett put up nine points and nine rebounds. Marquis Daniels had eight points off the bench for the Celtics, who are pretty much rotating eight healthy players (Semih Erden has a hurt groin and Von Wafer's back is acting up).

You have to give former Celtics head coach Jim O'Brien credit, the Pacers are no longer a pushover. They have some legitimate young talent and I wouldn't be surprised if they snuck into the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Danny Granger led Indiana with 19 points, Roy Hibbert added 17 points and 14 rebounds, Darren Collison had 15 points while T.J. Ford (13 points) and Mike Dunleavy (10 points) had nice games off the bench.

Boston led 30-23 after one quarter and 51-48 at halftime. Neither team could make shots in the third quarter (18-17 Celtics) which can be attributed to the early start and the Cs got it done in the fourth quarter (30-23).

The Celtics shot 53.9% to Indiana's 35.4%. Boston had six more assists (23-17) but five more turnovers kept the Pacers in it (18-13). The Cs had nine more fastbreak points (23-14) and 10 more points in the paint (40-30).

They are currently riding the seventh-longest win streak in franchise history and they'll look to extend it on Wednesday when they host the Philadelphia 76ers, who have been playing well since they took Boston to the limit a few weeks back in Philly.

Celtics win sixth straight, over the pesky Bulls

Coming into the 2010-2011 season, nobody and I mean nobody could have expected Kevin Garnett to be playing at the level that he is right now.

KG is 34-years-old and after limping through last season following knee surgery, he looked like a shell of his former self that was on a real downslope near the end of his career.

You can put off writing your KG obituary just yet, the dude can still ball. Last night he helped the Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls 104-92 at the TD Garden.

It was the second time Tom Thibodeau and Brian Scalabrine returned and this time, the Celts (15-4) were able to get it done in regulation.

Garnett (20 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals) and Rajon Rondo (12 points, 19 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) were the main ingredients in Boston's sixth straight triumph.

Paul Pierce added 18 points, Ray Allen chipped in 14 points and Shaquille O'Neal rounded out this balanced attack with 12 points.

Derrick Rose led Chicago (9-8) with 20 points and eight assists. Luol Deng had 15 points, Joakhim Noah added 14 points and 10 rebounds while Carlos Boozer (12 points) and Taj Gibson (10 points) also reached double figures.

Boston led 31-19 after the first quarter and 53-48 at halftime. However, just like whenever they play the Atlanta Hawks, the Bulls matchup so well with the Celtics that you never really feel comfortable until the game is over.

A strong third quarter by the Celts (29-22) helped them survive a not so great fourth (25-22 Bulls).

For the game, Boston shot 53.1% to Chicago's 41.9%. The Bulls made five 3-pointers to just one for the Celtics. Chicago made eight more free throws (25-17) but Boston had 10 more free throws (44-34) and 11 more assists (29-18). The Cs also had three more steals (7-4) and two more blocks (4-2). Finally, they continued their positive trend of owning the paint, outscoring Chicago 56-40 inside.

Boston will look to keep up the win streak as they go to New Jersey tomorrow afternoon to face the still miserable Nets.

Fourth quarters are never dull with this team

You have to give the Celtics credit, when you come to the TD Garden, they want you to get your money's worth.

That's nearly impossible with the overpriced tickets and lame atmosphere (most of the time) but the Celts do their best to never let opposing teams out of the game.

Take last night for example. Boston was up 16 points on the Portland Trailblazers in the fourth quarter and moments later, the Blazers were only down one point.

Thankfully we still have one of the best pure shooters in NBA history - Ray Allen - and he came through with a clutch 3-pointer that gave Boston (14-4) a 99-95 win over Portland (8-10).

Allen's greatness was illustrated by the fact that he was having a terrible night, he was 3 of 12 for nine points.

Paul Pierce carried the team with a game-high 28 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Garnett added 17 points and eight rebounds despite getting stitches in his chin during the third quarter. For the second night in a row, Glen Davis was great off the bench with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Shaquille O'Neal had 14 points and Rajon Rondo added 10 points and 10 assists.

The Blazers are floundering right now having lost five in a row while the Celtics won their fifth straight.

Wesley Matthews shot lights out early on his way to a team-high 23 points for Portland. Andre Miller added 20 points and six assists while LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy both scored 18.

Boston shot 57.1% to Portland's 45.9%. The Celtics kept the Blazers in the game with six more turnovers (17-11).

The Celtics welcome the Chicago Bulls (and Carlos Boozer, who debuted last night) back to the TD Garden tomorrow night. In the first matchup this season, Boston won a tight one in overtime.

Oh hi Rajon Rondo

With all due respect to Deron Williams and Chris Paul, who are better players and more well-rounded, I would still say that Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo is as important to his team as those two superstars or anybody in the NBA outside of maybe Kobe Bryant (ever hear of him?).

Without Rondo, the Celtics are an old bunch of guys whose best years are behind them. With him, they're the best team in the Eastern Conference and the biggest threat to break the Lakers' two year reign at the top.

Thankfully, Rondo's latest absence was only three games to nurse a minor hamstring injury. He was back with a vengeance last night as the Celts (12-4) beat the Toronto Raptors (6-10) 110-101 at the TD Garden.

After the Bruins' no-show in the afternoon, the Cs took care of business against a team that they lost to last Sunday (Rondo's first game out).

Rondo was a tad erratic with eight turnovers but he still put up 14 assists in 36 minutes. Kevin Garnett was the man with 26 points (3 alley-oops) and 11 rebounds. Paul Pierce and Glen Davis scored 18, Ray Allen added 17 and Shaquille O'Neal continues to prove the haters wrong with 16 points and nine rebounds (albeit against a team with no inside presence).

At one point, Toronto used a lineup with five foreign guys so clearly they love to shoot the 3-pointer. Linas Kleiza led the way with 18 points, Leandro Barbosa added 14 points, Peja Stojakovic scored 13, Jose Calderon had 12 points and 15 assists while Andrea Bargnani and Amir Johnson each had 11 points (a far cry from their win vs. Boston in Toronto).

Boston jumped out to a 30-21 lead after the first quarter but Toronto closed it to 58-52 at halftime. The Cs seemingly put it away in the third quarter (28-15) but as usual they got bored with closing it out (34-24 fourth quarter for Raptors) until the bitter end.

As a team, the Celtics shot 53.9% to Toronto's 45.1%. The Raptors made three more 3-pointers (7-4) but the Cs made four more free throws (24-20). Toronto had nine more rebounds (44-35) which is unexplainable but Boston made up for it with seven more assists (33-27), four more steals (6-2), six more blocks (8-2) and six less turnovers (17-11).

Boston needs to clean some things up if they hope to win in Cleveland on Tuesday. The Cavs are not very good but they beat the Celts in the second game of the season.

You can always count on the Atlanta Hawks to roll over when you need them to

No doubt about it, the Boston Celtics were reeling coming into Atlanta last night.

They were riding their first two-game losing streak of the season and frankly, they should have beaten the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday and the not good Toronto Raptors on Sunday but such is life in the NBA: where regular season boredom happens nightly.

Naturally, you had to be fearful of the Hawks since they swept the season series last season (four games) against the Celtics and pushed them to seven games during the 2008 playoffs in the first round.

Maybe Atlanta (8-6) forgot they had a game last night and spent Sunday in one of Atlanta's famous strip clubs? Whatever the reason, they never showed up in a pathetic 99-76 loss to the Celts (10-4).

If only the Hawks had any fans that cared, they would have demanded a refund for the garbage they had to endure.

Rajon Rondo sat out his second straight game with a hamstring injury and Nate Robinson played well for the second time in a row as a starter.

Nate will never be a passer first but he notched 16 points and 10 assists. Two other Cs had double-doubles: Kevin Garnett (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Shaquille O'Neal (13 points, 11 rebounds) who I have dubbed "Mr. First Quarter."

Paul Pierce added 13 points as they was essentially over in the first quarter (really) as Boston built a 26-point lead (39-13). From there, it was extended garbage time as the Celtics' three biggest scrubs: Luke Harangody, Von Wafer and Avery Bradley (NBA debut) all played at least six minutes each.

Mike Bibby led the Hawks with 11 points, Josh Powell and Jamal Crawford had 10 points apiece.

Boston hosts the New Jersey Nets tomorrow night on Thanksgiving Eve, aka drinking in your hometown night.