All the news you need to know in increments of 140 characters (or less)

Jermaine O'Neal rocked last night:

Chauncey Billups got hurt: 

Rondo might have hurt his knee too: 

Krstic definitely hurt his knee (but not during the game):

Shaq won't play tomorrow.... Surprise!!

But he does dress like an OG. Nice suit and sneakers, Big Man:

This next one takes Zero characters, but it is a visual depiction to all Knicks fans about why they shouldn't be complaining about the officiating: 

That, my friends, is a call that indisputably went the wrong way at a pivotal point in the game, similar to the situation last night involving Carmelo Anthony and Paul Pierce that so many Knicks fans are up in arms about.

And in news unrelated to last nights game, but still about the Celtics, Flo Allen ran the Marathon today.

She ran it last year as well. Good for her! 2 in 2 years is an unbelievable accomplishment! And her hard work shows, she looks amazing. 

Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers say the opposite thing about Shaq on the same day.

Honestly, this team should hire me. I think I'd make a great publicist. I have no formal training, but I'm sure I could concoct a unified front, quite unlike the current situation:

Doc Rivers said this:
The Boston Celtics are starting to get worried that Shaquille O'Neal's sabbatical from the game to deal with an assortment of right foot/leg/Achilles tendon continues to take longer than expected.

While the goal is to have him suit up before the playoffs, Celtics coach Doc Rivers acknowledged on Thursday that the team has no definitive idea as to when the 7-foot-1 center will be back.

"I really hope we can get him before the playoffs," said Rivers, who added that the injury is starting to "get close to bleeding" into the team's postseason plans.


And Danny Ainge said this: 
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge joined The Big Show for his weekly interview on Thursday afternoon. Ainge was first asked about the status of Shaquille O’Neal. Doc Rivers indicated earlier on Thursday that O’Neal’s achilles injury could be a problem in the postseason.

“I was just with Shaq, we were just working out down in Waltham,” said Ainge. “Shaq is either going to play Sunday or Tuesday. … I think that Doc probably — “bleed into the playoffs” — I think is something different than he’s not going to play until the playoffs. But it looks like he’s ready to go Sunday or Tuesday.”

Come on now. Even if nobody has any idea when Shaq will come back, or IF he even will, I'd contest that unity is key. Everyone should be saying the same thing, to minimize speculation. 

Recap: Celtics-Kings

The Celtics pretty much dominated this one from start to finish, even without the help of KG (calf) and JO (knee). The Kings got in to Boston at 3:30 AM this morning, after losing an OT game in Washington- and their exhaustion showed. They were once again without Tyreke Evans. Demarcus Cousins looked better than I thought he would. He seems comfortable playing away from the basket, and once he diversifies his moves in the paint a little bit he'll be a very solid offensive player. Whatever defensive prowess he has in his reportoire was not on display tonight... But that goes for everyone else on his team, too. I was surprised that the Kings waited so long to put Samuel Dalembert in the game. He's had some good outings vs. the Celtics in the past.  For the Celtics, Paul Pierce set the tone in the first quarter, dropping 15 points. Rondo had 10 points and 13 assists, and kept everyone on track over the course of his 29 minutes of play. Speaking of Rondo's minutes tonight- even though the roster is shorthanded right now, nobody except for Semih Erden played more than 30 minutes.

Paul Pierce would be the obvious choice for player of the game, but I'm going to go with Marquis Daniels. My friend and I decided to go to this game at the last moment, and I have to say- Marquis' game is even more impressive in real life. He's just so smooth and confident. His line (26 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal) does his performance tonight no justice. He does a good job of running the show when he's playing with the 2nd unit, but can also mesh just as well with the starters. He's also very stylish. Check out his outfit post game:

I'm diggin' the hat, boo. Weather appropriate and stylish at the same time, always a good combo. 

P.S.: Tonight marked Doc Rivers' 309th career win as the head coach of the Celtics. With the win he became the 3rd most winning coach in Celtics history, passing KC Jones. Congratulations to him. 

Looking back: Game 37. Another clunker.

The bottom line: It was evident from the opening minutes of the game that Celtics fans were in for a long night. It was pretty much a continuation of the same dismal-ness that we saw in Chicago: no energy, no defense, and lots of jump shots. Barf!!! I'm pretty sure KG was in the locker room beside himself. Hopefully he changed the channel. I know I did :) The Celtics didn't take advantage of their size. They were smothered by the Houston defense all night and looked clueless when the Rockets played a zone.

On a night where everyone else looked like they'd rather be at home watching Auburn v Oregon battle for the BCS National Championship (congrats, Cam Newton), Marquis Daniels showed up ready to go... Too bad nobody else in Green joined him. Over the course of 24 minutes of play, he put up an impressive line of 19 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals in 24 minutes of play. So, shout out to him for being the only guy in Green who looked like he actually cared about winning. Jermaine O'Neal also showed some signs of life last night, which is always welcome.

The Celtics have now lost 4 out of their last 9 games. Let's hope we're not in for another long winter, like last season. Doc Rivers is pissed off, and I'm sure that the players share in his same sentiment. I hold out faith that this is a mental hurdle that this team can pass, and that they will return to playing inspired, team basketball (hopefully soon). It's so boring to say at this point, since it's been said over and over again- but they will undoubtedly be energized by the return of KG. Let's hope he's well enough to be on the floor tomorrow against Sacramento. We also have no idea how this team will play with a full roster, once Perk and Delonte West are back on the floor, but it's exciting to think about. All of the injuries undoubtedly make it harder for this team to win games, but it's not a valid excuse to lose games that they should clearly win. This team is way too good for that. Let's hope for a strong rebound against the Kings tomorrow.