It's About Time...

The struggling Celtics will receive a much-needed shot in the arm Thursday night when Jermaine O' Neal suits up for the first time in months against the mighty San Antonio Spurs.  

When Danny Ainge elected to sign free-agent center Jermaine O' Neal prior to the start of the 2010-11 season, the plan was to pair the former Pacer with fellow offseason acquisition Shaquille O' Neal in an attempt to solidify the Celtics thinning frontcourt. Despite their heightened age and history of chronic injuries, Boston put a lion's share of faith in the O' Neals to provide then-starting center Kendrick Perkins with viable back-ups off the bench.

The experiment started out well. Both centers showed up to camp in good shape. Jermaine and Shaq showed no frustration about accepting lesser roles. Joining a Celtics team littered with future Hall of Famers, Jermaine and Shaq vowed to rebound, play tough defense and do whatever was asked of them to help raise Banner 18 in June.

Fast forward to the regular season and the plan began to backfire on Ainge. Jermaine, almost on cue, broke down like a used car. Shaq, after filling in admirably during the first half of the season for the injured Perk, had his body fail him as well. Both big men left the bench in favor for the disabled list and missed the majority of the regular season.

Then, Danny traded Perk in one of the most surprising, eye-popping trades in recent memory. Suddenly, despite receiving center Nenad Krstic as part of the deal, the center position for the Celtics looked head-shakingly thin.

No Perk. No Shaq. No Jermaine. No physical presence in the paint.

But now, after months of patiently waiting, the Celtics are about to receive a big shot in the arm. After rehabbing his surgically repaired left knee for the past few months, Jermaine is back. In fact, he is expected to suit up Thursday night in San Antonio in a marquee match-up against the mighty Spurs.

Jermaine's return could not have come at a better time. With embarrassing losses to the Grizzlies, Bobcats and Pacers recently, the Celtics are slumping of late (1-3 in their last four games). To boot, Krstic, who played great after being acquired from the Thunder, has fallen off considerably and even looked soft in the paint. Not a good sign for a team who prides itself on toughness.

The 32-year-old O' Neal should instantly help solidify the Celts' ailing interior defense. He hasn't played in a game since January 12 and has missed 55 of Boston's 73 regular season games to date. However, the lack of playing time could greatly benefit Boston as O' Neal returns with fresh legs just in time for the stretch run.

"This is the best I've felt since last year in Miami," O' Neal told Yahoo! Sports. "I just never felt good from the start of this season."

Doc Rivers is excited for O' Neal's return as well. He even said O' Neal looks great physically after working out with mega-trainer Tim Grover in Chicago.

"His quickness and his activity [were surprising]," Rivers said of O' Neal during a recent practice. "He didn't surprise me where he didn't pick up some stuff. I don't blame him for that, but I was happy. I was very happy with it."

The Celtics got some good news today as well. After receiving a cortisone shot, Shaq's ailing foot is progressing and he could shed his walking boot any day now. Rivers has even thrown out April 5th as a possible return date for the Big Diesel.

"It's improving," Rivers said of Shaq's injury that has plagued him for much of the season. "Before it just wasn't improving. Now it is. He's feeling better. He's doing some running. So we're hopefully for the last couple of games-- maybe next week he can play-- but that doesn't mean he is."