Shaq joins Celtics, is it the right move? | Thebigtip

It's official...Superman, Shaq Attack, Big Diesel, Big Cactus, etc has agreed to join the Boston Celtics on a one year deal.

Shaquille O'Neal has agreed to join one of the oldest franchises to form the oldest team in the league with the big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. In what seems like a move to counteract the partnership in Miami of superfriends Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh the Celtics have made their second signing of a former allstar following the signing of Jermaine O'Neal earlier in the free agency period. The signing of Shaq is partly to cover defensive stopper Kendrick Perkins who is out for the majority of the year as well as put some fear in eastern conference rivals with the signing of the 7 foot plus behemoth.

The big question is will this signing help the Celtics in their title quest. Shaq is no longer the dominant force he once was now he is 38 years old. His most recent stops in Phoenix and Cleveland has proved to be spectacularly unsuccessful with a failure to make the playoffs with the Suns and a very poor showing by the Cavs in the latest playoff series. Problems have arisen with team chemistry being an issue as well as both teams struggling to acclimate Shaq into the teams game styles. 

Boston appear to be a suitable fit chemistry wise with the big three having created an environment where the team is above the egos of the individual. Rasheed Wallace and Rajon Rondo, two players known to be chemistry killers have managed to fit into the Celtics squad with relative ease. Whilst Shaq is known to have one of the biggest egos in basketball I don't believe the big three will allow him to allow it to cause disruption that he has caused in previous stages at previous clubs. The biggest stumbling block could be unhappiness with lack of minutes especially when Perkins returns from injury. Reports are Shaq is willing to play a further reduced role with the Celtics. How this works time will tell.

The biggest issue may more so be the defensive liability he could be in the defensive minded Celtics squad. Mobility is no longer what it used to be for Superman but with a quality frontcourt defensive MVP next to him in Kevin Garnett as well as super stopper Rajon Rondon his slow movement in pick and roll defence should not be too exposed.

The positives of a 4 time NBA champion and a 15 time all-star in the squad outweigh any of the apparent negatives with the signing of Shaq bringing in at the very least bringing in a big body who can crash the boards to assist in covering the loss of Perkins to a potential upside of the Big Leprechaun bringing a 18th championship banner to Beantown. 

One thing for certain with Shaq joining the Celtics is that the matchups with the Miami Heat and LA Lakers will prove to be even more tantalising given his history with both clubs.