Some good news on the injury front!

ESPN Boston finally has some good news to report:

- The MRI on Paul's foot came back clean, and the injuries to his foot and his hand have been deemed minor. He will play Wednesday against New Jersey. As a precautionary measure, he did not practice today, and will also sit out practice tomorrow.

The Celtics don't fool me! Paul Pierce is the most stubborn man alive. I wish he wasn't going to play Wednesday, and call me a party pooper, but I also wish he'd sit out the All Star festivities. The Captain dealt with nagging injuries last year, and they especially plagued him in the second half of the season. I'd like to avoid that at all costs. In any case, I'm glad these current injuries are nothing serious, and I'm sure that even though he'll be playing in the game and participating in the 3 point contest, the break will serve him well.

-Delonte West participated in practice today, and barring any soreness popping up over night, he will play tomorrow against New Jersey. Wooohooo!!! It will be GREAT to see Delonte back out there, and even though he doesn't have the size to play back up to Paul, the Celtics can work with it in the mean time, while the Marquis situation gets figured out.

-Semih will be ready to return after All Star break, and will resume action with the team on their West Coast road trip. Any big body in a Celtics uniform who's ready to play is a welcome sight right now.

I'm not sure whether or not this counts as good news, but...

-Shaq is also expected to play during the West Coast road trip. Greg Payne of ESPN Boston reports that Doc was quoted to have said, "When he first injured it we all thought it was a one- or two-game thing, and now it's been longer, and now it's getting to the point where we're not sure if he'll play on the west coast trip or not. We're hoping he will. Right now we think he will, maybe not every game, maybe we play him every other game, but if we had to play today, I don't know if Shaq could play today." Well hey. It will be great to have Semih back, and if Shaq can come back, even in a limited capacity, that would be great as well. I'd rather be REALLY safe than sorry with Shaq-tus.

Jermaine O'Neal... Fashion Designer.

Jermaine has been hurt since he got here... So what's he been doing with all that free time, besides rehabbing? Designing clothes, apparently. Being 6'11" makes clothes that fit hard to come by, so Jermaine took matters in to his own hands and created a line of clothes catered to tall people. Above is a video I found on youtube, and below is a still from the line. Go ahead then, Jermaine.

(photo source)



My favorite highlight from Celtics-Heat: Rondo invades the Heat huddle.

And why is Jeff Van Gundy so mad? There was no timeout called, so Rondo's allowed to be wherever he wants on the court. Plus, he was probably just dropping in to say what up! Lebron was laughing. I GUARANTEE it, that if D. Wade or Lebron nosed their way in to a Celtics huddle, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson would have all KINDS of praise, about how competitive they are and how hilarious they are. Wamp wamp.

The injury bug just won't stop biting!

The Celtics, playing with 7 guys, beat the Heat 85-82 today. It was an impressive win, and showed how much grit this team has.

The win is even more impressive if you think about this: Paul Pierce played 40 minutes and went 0-10 from the field, tallying only 1 point. Eeeek! I thought he was still bothered by the flu, which hampered him during the LA game. Nope, turns out there are unfortunately, much larger problems at play here. Chris Forsberg reports that Paul is battling injuries to both his wrist and his foot, and has an MRI scheduled for tomorrow to take a look at his foot. Hopefully the MRI comes back clean. I have seven words for him: NO ALL STAR GAME FOR YOU, SIR! Rest, rest and more rest, please!!!!

If you were thinking about going to the game tomorrow and taunting Lebron about Delonte allegedly sleeping with his mother....

Think twice before you do it.

Not only is it trashy and unnecessary, but I really doubt any fan is ready for Lebron to punch them in the face. I know I'm not built for beef.

The Marquis Daniels conundrum

To say that the Celtics were shorthanded going in to Thursdays showdown with the Lakers would be an understatement. For bigs, only Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis were available, as Shaq, JO and Semih were unavailable to go. They were down a swingman, with no Marquis Daniels, and thin at the 2, with no Delonte West. As if injuries weren't already plaguing the Celtics enough, Nate Robinson limped off the court in the first half with a bruised knee not to return, and Paul Pierce played through a nice case of the flu. The Celtics will face Miami tomorrow with a similarly depleted roster...

But here's the upside to all of this: Shaq and Semih are projected to return soon, JO is on the mend rehabbing his knee (I'm keeping the faith and being optimistic), Delonte West could come back as early as tomorrow (but more likely, Wednesday), Nate Robinson's injury doesn't appear to be too serious, and Paul Pierce will be okay. The question mark here is Marquis Daniels. How long will he be out? Even if he is able to return, how effective will he be? There has been no word from the Celtics on any of this, probably partly because they don't know and partly because they're an organization that plays their hand close to their chest. 

The best case scenario is that Marquis is able to return within one to two months, in time to get back in to the swing of things for the play offs. While not ideal, the Celtics could make due with a lack of depth at the three by divvying those minutes out between Von Wafer and Delonte West.

But what if he can't come back? The Celtics might consider buying his contract out and letting him go. Pardon me for being such a girl here, but that would be SO sad. The Globe compiled a list of potential replacements should worst come to worst. Notables on this list include Anthony Parker, Carl Landry and Josh Howard.

No offense to Mr. Howard, but I'd rather wait for Marquis to come back, if it's at all a possibility.

In solidarity!

Shaq and Criss Angel: A match made in heaven. Get ready for the most amazing thing ever.

Do you believe in magic? I do. And I love love love love love MINDFREEAAAAAAAAAAAK by Criss Angel. Never seen it? Do yourself a favor and check it out, it comes on A&E. Here's a clip of the man in action:

I'm not just posting this because I love Criss Angel. I'm posting this because Shaq has asked Criss Angel to elevate him above the TD Banknorth Garden. Oh yes. Boston.com reports:

Shaquille O’Neal and his girlfriend, Nikki ‘‘Hoopz’’ Alexander, were on Emily Rooney’s WGBH radio show yesterday, and the Celts center revealed his next stunt: He plans to levitate over the TD Garden. “Now, listen. I askedCriss Angel to levitate me over the top of the TD Boston Garden and he said yes, so we just have to figure out a date,’’ said Shaq. 

And as you saw in the video above, the man is capable of levitation. Heck yes. Cheers to Shaq and his never ending list of original, quirky and entertaining things to do.