In the Article about "Key Injuries" affecting playoff teams (Which can be seen here), I talked a little bit about Shaq's injury and that he should be back by mid April. Today I want to revisit Shaq's injury status since he returned to action just two days ago.
Shaq played for the Celtics for the first time in a little over 2 months after injuring his right Achilles. The Celtics and their fans got to see him play for a few minutes before he injured his right calf. The calf strain is not nearly as alarming as his Achilles injury. It does however mean that Shaq won't be able to play the proper amount of regular season games to get himself into shape for the Playoffs. It also means both his team and him won't be able to get comfortable playing with each other till the playoffs. Even though there is no timetable for his return, he is expected to be back before the playoffs. The question is can he get into shape and can he be as effective as they need him to be.
Looking into the playoffs, the Celtics can get past the first round without Shaq but because they lost their hold on first place they will now have to play the Heat in the second round of the playoffs. Shaq would be a very important player for the Celtics in this series, because the Heat doesn't really have anyone that can guard him. He would also be a very important part of the team if they advance any farther into the playoffs. With Shaq in question for the playoffs, the Celtics are also in question. Their still questionable trade of Kendrick Perkins only makes him that much more important to the team's success. If they had not traded Perkins, then Shaq injury status wouldn't affect the Celtics nearly as much, because Perkins can do many of the same things Shaq can do. We will see how much the trade hurts them, and how far the Celtics will go in the playoffs.
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