Boston's Big Three [v2] Era: Big Time Basketball
by Tom Halzack on Aug 25, 2010 12:27 PM EDT
in Boston Celtics Articles
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PrintWhew. Now that we don't have to hold our breath anymore worrying about Rondo injuring himself overseas....
After taking most of the summer off, it is time for me to rejoin the land of
Let’s start with the reloaded Celtics.
No. Let’s go before even that.
The Celtics recent history reads:
That is pretty heady stuff for a
Welcome to the big time. And, make no doubt, it has been fun. Excellent basketball, unique, strong personalities wandering in (and out), nationally televised games, and deep playoff runs.
From a
Jermaine O’Neal chooses the cold confines of New England to play with this Big Three Plus One instead of joining the newly formed Big Three on the
If you don’t love rooting for them, you absolutely love hating them. Adding Rasheed gave them an overdose of verbalocity with the refs last season. Shaq and Jermaine will save most of their comments for the opposing
For reasons that are only partially understood, this
Along the way they spanked 2 pretenders contenders and returned from a 2-1 deficit to lead the Lakers 3-2 before coughing up Perkins, the advantage, and the title.
That three year run has and continues to produce major excitement for Celtic fans who are watching a small cadre of top stars entering ‘none too gently’ a time in their careers where there is more road in the rear view mirror than ahead of them. And they are bound by a young star on the rise who exudes that same incredible confidence and mental toughness.
Coming Attractions….
- An emerging Glen Davis, a unique player with unique talent in a contract year, where expectations will be higher.
- The quiet man, Marquis Daniels, hoping to make a louder impact as he seeks redemption for an off year marred by yet another injury.
- The might mite, 5’9" Nate Robinson, an explosive scorer whose expectations will be higher as he starts the season with the
team and will know the plays and his teammates better. - Von Wafer also seeking
NBA redemption as the new three point shooter and more. - Avery Bradley defensive minded, hard driving 1st rounder. Will he be the first 1st rounder to make an impact since Rondo in 2006?
- Luke Harangody, summer league star looking to prove that wasn’t a fluke
- The mystery 15th roster spot probably won’t be the 15th man on the depth chart – but who will that be?
The Celtics’ marketing catch phrase starting last season was ‘Reloaded’. Maybe it should have been Rondo Rising, Garnett Healing and Wallace Waiting. But who knew then?
It will be interesting to see how this season plays out.
Reloaded might be more apropos this season. At least it is Reloaded –Part 2. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that both Jermaine O’Neal and Shaquille O’Neal would be donning Celtic green this season. Okay. So we’re getting some high mileage players. They are definitely not from the ‘Certified’ section of
It is a Celtic response to deal with the length of L.A. and the seriousness of the injury to Kendrick Perkins. Rebounding, shot blocking and clogging the middle just got better. How much will they miss Perkin’s pick and roll and
The basic structure of this
It is an all star cast held over for at least one more run. Stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo are joined by former stars now playing supporting roles in Jermaine O’Neal and Shaq. And they will look for strong support from the ensemble cast of Glen Davis, Nate Robinson, and Marquis Daniels.
Can a rookie climb into that group?
Who will fill the missing piece of swing defender?
Will Shaq really accept a lesser role?
This isn’t ‘Gary Payton coming’ to help a middling
They are guaranteed to entertain, will deliver dynamic performances and will be among those teams nominated for best of the year. But they are out for only one thing, to win the NBAs’ version of Best Picture of the Year, the
Like always, that will require another strong performance by the starters, but this time it will require some outstanding performances from the bench players to bring it home.
Assuming a healthy year for the
It is possible that they will be the Greatest Show on Earth. What they want to be is the Greatest
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Nice
Got me very excited for basketball season!
i want that title back
Lakers know they didn’t deserve it they held the ball at the end of that game with their tail between their legs shocked they actually won. It was pathetic to watch
by threats13 on Aug 25, 2010 10:52 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Wow!!!
Really? We didnt deserve the title??? Oh…excuse me gentlemen and ladies (if any are present) to fully disagree with Mr Threats13. That comment may be sour grapes and believe me ive had my share…
by Kobe Won Kenobi on Aug 25, 2010 2:35 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
You've been a trooper here KWK
I really just want to see both teams at full strength during a finals game. (here are the qualifiers)
1. I want to see them play more than one game, thus a series not the regular season. This also means it’s a finals series.
2. full strength means full line ups with neither team with a starting players at 70%.
That my friends is the basketball we strive to proudly say ‘Beat LA’.
I don't like the name "big 3" anymore
Honestly, when I saw the photo today I immediatly got mad at Ray. IMO he shouldn’t be in the picture, and apparently I still haven’t gotten over the fact that he almost always (with rare exception) is atrocious offensively in the playoffs.
The real big 3 wouldn’t cost their team a championship like Ray did, and if it were up to me I’d do away with the whole name all together. If they HAD to have the name, I’d replace Ray with Rondo.
I am excited about the upcoming season, and think the Celtics will be very good… I just want it to be about the dynamics of the team and not a false “big 3” name anymore.
thanks TH
Agree, it really is ‘three plus one’ or ‘big four’…or how about focusing on a total team effort.
Dynamics of the team…yes.
The "Big 3" label was always lame!
Even when it referred to Bird-McHale-Parish.
Seriously, in terms of being clever or displaying even a speck of creativity…it ranks right up there with “Yankees Suck”.
Agreed
What I also find funny is that many of the people here who hate how the NBA promotes individual over team are the same people who are attached to the “big 3” title. 3 people don’t win a title, and 3 people aren’t the only ones on the court at any given time during a game.
by TomHamilton30 on Aug 25, 2010 3:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Don`t even get me started on that "sacred cow" named Ray Allen...
With his 0-for-13 performance in Game 3 a fresh memory…we desperately needed him to step up in Game 7, knowing that LA would dominate inside w/o Perk.
Thanks for that 3-for-14 gem you turned in that night, Ray.
Oh yeah, good job also in allowing Kobe to grab 15 boards!
Did you watch game 7...
and see the defense Ray played on Kobe? He could have scored zero points and still been a positive contributor.
how exactly did he “cost his team a championship”?
I mean you clearly have to have a biased against Ray to hold that kind of sentiment.
"Take it to the hoop, there's a dance involved." - DJ Tommy
by WillyBeamin on Aug 25, 2010 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions
there were also several reports
that Ray was dealing with deep thigh bruise every game after game 2, which as you might imagine, would effect a jump shooter severely.
"Take it to the hoop, there's a dance involved." - DJ Tommy
by WillyBeamin on Aug 25, 2010 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Yes, it indeed would
But there are no excuses. Tony Allen, or someone, should have gotten some of Ray’s minutes. If he is too “injured” to make a basic shot, then he should have had his minutes reduced. But he still played b/c of his “legacy”.
by TomHamilton30 on Aug 25, 2010 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions
that simply ignores how the offense works.
Even when missing shots, Ray commands respect by the defense – they have to have someone contesting his shots. This is one less body that can keep a foot in the paint.
Ray’s role in our offense is NOT to be a primary shooter. He is our 4th option. His role is to move bodies out of the way so that Paul, KG & Rajon have easy access to the hoop. As one of the best at moving without the ball, Ray is still one of the very best in the NBA at moving bodies out of position.
The reason we don’t want Ray’s outside shot to be higher utilization is very simply because, even when having a red-hot season, a 3PT shooter is not going to hit for greater than 40%, whereas layups and dunks convert at 75% or higher.
If we get to the point where we are lamenting how our 4th scoring option has ‘failed’ because they are missing outside, low-percentage shots, then that means our first three options have failed already.
And to bring that point back to your comment
The reason TA shouldn’t be in there in those situations is because while his defense may or may not be marginally better than Rays (and it is hard to see how it could have been much better than what Ray did in those finals) his affect on the offense was always a complete disaster when he sub’ed for Ray.
Because the other team defense completely ignored TA, dropped 4 guys into the paint and smothered Pierce.
yet another reason to hate ron artest
i hope we don’t forget his deliberate cheap shot to ray’s thigh.
by guy incognito on Aug 25, 2010 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions
Exactly
Last I checked, Ray broke a 3-point record in the finals. His overall consistency in his career for 3-point shooting has been really astounding. Yes, he missed shots in the series, but everybody did.
He may have had some off-nights, but Kobe did too. It’s just looking for somebody to blame.
Yes I saw Ray's Defense
and it was above his average, for sure. But I don’t have an unnatural bias against Ray.
In game 3 of the finals Ray was downright atrocious. If he had made ANYTHING, the Celtics would have likely won. It was killing me the entire game, but I accepted it b/c I figured it was the “cold” game to the previous “hot” game 2. However, in games 4 & 5 the Celtics were lucky to win with Ray playing as bad as he did. In game 6 he wasn’t good, but not awful, but it didn’t matter.
And then came game 7. He wasn’t the only reason they lost, but I don’t think he was a positive contributor compared to others who could have played his minutes. There were numerous dumb turnovers that were committed that led to easy (and valuable) fast break points for the Lakers. Not to mention he couldn’t make wide open shots. If he had played even “somewhat below average” from games 3 through 7 then the Celtics would definitely have won the series.
Honestly, outside of Game 2 during the 2010 finals, the Chicago series in the 2009 playoffs, and game 6 of the 2008 finals (which was a blowout anyways), Ray has been much worse in the playoffs than he has been in the regular season. I value a lot of things that he does to space the floor, etc., but he has generally been choke in the playoffs. Leg bruise or not, he is well below his normal average in the playoffs, and going forward does not deserve to be part of the “big 3”.
I loved the trade at the time, like many things about Ray still, but I’m still irritated by his play in much of the playoffs the past 3 years.
by TomHamilton30 on Aug 25, 2010 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions
who on this team
has been consistent every playoff game of our 3 year run?
I think your expectations are far to high (we know how good ray can be so this happens). Ray has been an integral part of our success, despite some poor shooting stretches.
You’re really suggesting that tony allen should have played in game 7 instead of ray allen? I mean to suggest that ray allen had turnover issues and then say tony allen should have gotten his minutes really loses you some credibility.
No one has been more consistent for us during the regular season than ray over the past 2 years.
"Take it to the hoop, there's a dance involved." - DJ Tommy
oh yes
and you talk about missing open shots… tony allen in the game would result in the same missed jumpers, and fewer driving lanes for our other players as well.
"Take it to the hoop, there's a dance involved." - DJ Tommy
This is just like The Expendables:
It is an all star cast held over for at least one more run. Stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo are joined by former stars now playing supporting roles in Jermaine O’Neal and Shaq.
Irresponsible I stand...
somehow...
I keep seeing Rondo as Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four….
all long armed and long fingers stretching all over the place for steals and buckets you don’t think have any chance at all. He is an Elastic Man if there ever was one.
I grew up reading those superhero comics and still have my stash (of comics that is).
by Tom Halzack on Aug 25, 2010 10:22 PM EDT up reply actions
JO
Didn’t come here over MIA for any other reason then he could get the full MLE. He couldn’t get that in MIA.
please tell me how you know this?
that is some good insider info.
MIA hadn’t used their MLE on miller when O’Neal signed, so to say he “couldn’t” would seem to be inaccurate. Whether or not MIA offered it to him you dont’t know, and neither do I.
"Take it to the hoop, there's a dance involved." - DJ Tommy
by WillyBeamin on Aug 25, 2010 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions
actually i do believe that he was offered that in miami, at least i think i read that some time ago. he was conviced by Rondo that the pieces were here and his role off the bench could be better utilized than as a starter during the playoffs.
but miami did actually want him back
by Warrior Spirit on Aug 25, 2010 6:24 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
The heat didn't want JO because he was horrible last year, he shot like 20% in the playoffs
he had a bad attitude, he had to leave a game like 20 times because of injuries. Miami had no interest in bringing him back.
by Dolphins21MZ on Aug 25, 2010 7:50 PM EDT up reply actions
That makes no sense.
The Heat had JO’s Bird rights and further were under the cap, so the MLE doesn’t even come into the picture for their roster-building this summer.
They spent just as much (a tiny bit more, actually) to get the combo of Haslem and Anthony – and neither of those guys are as good as JO. Yes, they get depth that way, but only one of those guys can play C at a time. So they had the money to spend on JO.
You win with your starters.
The Heat would have been better off retaining JO and signing another bench big for the vet min (along with Z).
It is indeed possible that they made him an offer and he turned it down. He was on record very early as thinking that Boston or Dallas were his best chance at a championship – and he knew full well that the possibility was there of Bosh & James coming to the Heat.
It's gonna be a wild ride, once again
I can’t wait for “The Return of the Greeny Shaq” and “Jermaine Strikes Back”
Nice piece
Needed something like this to read this summer. My blood is boiling and my juices are flowing for the season to begin.
Actually think that Rondo will have more of an impact than anyone else on this team. He has to be in TOTAL CONTROL and be the MVP of the team this year.
I’m hoping Maturity starts to set in with him and he realizes his role
I wont say your summer additions wont work out for you...
Adding Shaq under the right circumstances (as in Off the bench+Slow tempo+limited minutes=a very servicable big man) is a plus. Not sure about the other Oneal???? Jury is still out. Sheed should have gave it a go one mo’ year. I never was a fan of Sheed but he was the crust of the NBA. I can resect that..he always kept it real even when he declared “Both teams played hard” after every media question. Classic!!!
by Kobe Won Kenobi on Aug 25, 2010 2:44 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I expect a low seed from this group
Unless Rondo can figure out that jump shot, I see Boston as rather anemic offensively.
Our half-court offense has been scouted so extensively at this point – we can only get easy baskets on the break now. I do like Ainge’s strategy of loading up on Centers, as improved rebounding and paint D should lead to more fastbreak opportunities. Also, size at the center position looks to be Miami’s main weakness, and going against LBJ & Wade you’ll want to be able to give up as many fouls as possible.
Bottom line though, Rondo needs to be All-NBA. The thing is, if our best player is a pg who can’t shoot at least 75% from the line – were not getting back to the Finals. His shooting absolutely kills our half court offense.
our 2nd unit
would appear to be pretty stout offensively… could make up for a lot of the limitations of our first unit. Especially if a guy like Wafer hits his stride and gets some run with the first unit.
nate rob with a full season + training camp
BBD – see above
Jermaine O’neal
Shaq…
I don’t entirely disagree with you at all, our offensive can be very brutal in the halfcourt. Now take last year’s offense and plug in JO or Shaq at center and think of all the easy buckets they’ll get that were just perkins doing nothing…
"Take it to the hoop, there's a dance involved." - DJ Tommy
Agree 100%
Shaq and Jermaine should help get the C’s more buckets in the low post this upcoming season which was a weak spot last year since really only Rasheed and at times KG looked to score in the paint.
"His shooting absolutely kills our half court offense."
And yet, this is basically and completely … not supported by facts.
When Rondo was on the floor this last year, we scored a 111 pts per 100 possessions.
I’m not going to say that it wouldn’t be better if Rondo had an improved shot – most importantly a better free throw shot.
But to suggest that it is ‘killing’ our offense? That’s hyperbole.
The Celtics were primarily a defensively oriented team, but they were also very efficient on offense. They were 4th overall in FG%, 5th overall in eFG%, 6th in creating FTs per FGA, and had an above average offensive efficiency rating of 107.7 pts per 100 possessions – and note that all those numbers are for the team overall. You can tell from that last number that the team was far better (111) with Rondo on the floor than not!
The starting 5 (Rondo , Ray, Pierce, KG & Perk) posted a gaudy 113 pts per 100 possessions rating – to go along with a stifling 100 pts per 100 possessions on defense.
And something like 44% of the shots made by his teammates while Rondo is on the floor come from an assist by Rondo!
The Celtics do not show up high in the rankings of ‘pts per game’ offenses because they play at a relatively slow pace. But their efficiency at scoring on any given possession was fine. Hardly ‘anemic’.
So basically, by the only objective measure that counts – points on the scoreboard – there is no valid case to be made that Rondo is somehow ‘killing’ our offense.
So.. when you are one of the two best teams, OF COURSE the stats are going to look nice.
So.. when you are one of the two best teams, OF COURSE the stats are going to look nice.What is the goal though? Good stats? No, it’s raising banners.
So.. when you are one of the two best teams, OF COURSE the stats are going to look nice.What is the goal though? Good stats? No, it’s raising banners.Which brings us back to when push came to shove, in the 4th quarter of game 7, our starters couldn’t buy a bucket in the half court. Heck, look at the game 5 win, it came on the backs of our reserves.
So.. when you are one of the two best teams, OF COURSE the stats are going to look nice.What is the goal though? Good stats? No, it’s raising banners.Which brings us back to when push came to shove, in the 4th quarter of game 7, our starters couldn’t buy a bucket in the half court. Heck, look at the game 5 win, it came on the backs of our reserves.IF Rondo could trust his FT shooting, he would have been able to exploit that LA defense that was jumping out way past the 3pt line to stiffle us. He can get the rim anytime he wants, but only does so when he knows a high % shot or pass is awaiting him. For someone with that ability, he should be averaging 10+ FT attempts a game.
So.. when you are one of the two best teams, OF COURSE the stats are going to look nice.What is the goal though? Good stats? No, it’s raising banners.Which brings us back to when push came to shove, in the 4th quarter of game 7, our starters couldn’t buy a bucket in the half court. Heck, look at the game 5 win, it came on the backs of our reserves.IF Rondo could trust his FT shooting, he would have been able to exploit that LA defense that was jumping out way past the 3pt line to stiffle us. He can get the rim anytime he wants, but only does so when he knows a high % shot or pass is awaiting him. For someone with that ability, he should be averaging 10+ FT attempts a game.He instead picks his spots, exemplified by his posting an outstanding FG% despite being one of the worst shooters in the league. With the Big 3 of 08’, that worked great — but those days are long gone and the reality is that we need Rondo to be All-NBA to win another title.
So.. when you are one of the two best teams, OF COURSE the stats are going to look nice.What is the goal though? Good stats? No, it’s raising banners.Which brings us back to when push came to shove, in the 4th quarter of game 7, our starters couldn’t buy a bucket in the half court. Heck, look at the game 5 win, it came on the backs of our reserves.IF Rondo could trust his FT shooting, he would have been able to exploit that LA defense that was jumping out way past the 3pt line to stiffle us. He can get the rim anytime he wants, but only does so when he knows a high % shot or pass is awaiting him. For someone with that ability, he should be averaging 10+ FT attempts a game.He instead picks his spots, exemplified by his posting an outstanding FG% despite being one of the worst shooters in the league. With the Big 3 of 08’, that worked great — but those days are long gone and the reality is that we need Rondo to be All-NBA to win another title.Which is why, IMHO, his inability to…
Drive > Create contact > Knock down FT’s
…is killing our offense in the half court. The blue print is clear, stick with Ray & swarm the ball and we’ll force something late in the shot clock.
So.. when you are one of the two best teams, OF COURSE the stats are going to look nice.What is the goal though? Good stats? No, it’s raising banners.Which brings us back to when push came to shove, in the 4th quarter of game 7, our starters couldn’t buy a bucket in the half court. Heck, look at the game 5 win, it came on the backs of our reserves.IF Rondo could trust his FT shooting, he would have been able to exploit that LA defense that was jumping out way past the 3pt line to stiffle us. He can get the rim anytime he wants, but only does so when he knows a high % shot or pass is awaiting him. For someone with that ability, he should be averaging 10+ FT attempts a game.He instead picks his spots, exemplified by his posting an outstanding FG% despite being one of the worst shooters in the league. With the Big 3 of 08’, that worked great — but those days are long gone and the reality is that we need Rondo to be All-NBA to win another title.Which is why, IMHO, his inability to…
Drive > Create contact > Knock down FT’s
…is killing our offense in the half court. The blue print is clear, stick with Ray & swarm the ball and we’ll force something late in the shot clock.So I maintain, that until Rondo can shoot a respectable FT – or confidently take and hit a 15’ jumper, our offense may still be good – but won’t be good enough to beat Miami or LA.
not sure what caused your post to mess up, but I got the jist
You are still just coming back with an opinion and only supporting it with anecdotal evidence.
You can always anecdotally pick out a game here or a game there where ‘this guy did X’ or ‘that guy did Y’ or ‘we lost because of such and such’ or ‘we won because of this & that’.
That ignores that it is a team effort based on matchups over multiple games. Teams adjust. They take away one thing you may have been doing and so you counter with another. Sometimes that is with the same players, sometimes it is with different players. One guy may have a bad game and your teammates pick you up – often that is because your matchups with the other team have changed.
That’s why, throughout the playoffs, it was never just one guy or the same guys each night getting it done. Some games, Rondo won it for us. Other games Pierce had a big night. Or KG, or Ray or a combination. And in a couple of games, it was our bench that came through.
And also, throughout the playoffs, different guys had poor games and we couldn’t find a counter matchup and we lost. And folks on the blogosphere always love to point at those games and blame the entirety of losing that final game on one or two bad outings by one player or another.
Its a team game, especially for the Celtics.
We lost Game 7 because a cornerstone of our team – our starting freaking center, Kendrick Perkins – was in street clothes. In the 5 games he played, we were up 3-2.
Its pretty much that simple. There is no need to blame the guys who did play and through their combined efforts came up just 4 pts short.
Again – Rondo gaining an improved Free Throw shot would be a very good thing. But I disgree with your premise that we have no chance without that happening or that that somehow means our offense is not good enough. The numbers simply do not support that.
very nice article Tom for three reasons
1. Finally got me excited and that takes a lot in August – nicely written
2.)Tom mentioned one of my favorites Gary Payton. Man that guy could post up for a PG
3.) You got me to thinking about the phrase this your to replace Reloaded….maybe “Ancient Geezer Warriors Revenge” I’ll work on it.
ohhhh. you used the word verbalocity! wow…
Thanks Tom
Is it Soup Yet?
how about that movie...
with Clint Eastwood, James Garner and some other oldie as astronauts – Space Cowboys or something
Ancient Geezer Warriors Revenge – nice ring to it.
by Tom Halzack on Aug 25, 2010 10:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Rondo
I wouldn’t be surprised to see RR be a MVP candidate for the league this year
by bbeingphilled on Aug 25, 2010 4:51 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
if he develops a passable mid-range jumper, no doubt
give him that and a 70% or higher FT percentage and he’s basically unstoppable.
by guy incognito on Aug 25, 2010 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions
if he develops a passable mid-range jumper, no doubt
give him that and a 70% or higher FT percentage and he’s basically unstoppable.
by guy incognito on Aug 25, 2010 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Agree
that it was hard to imagine the C’s would of signed both Shaq and Jermaine this off season.
I also agree the signing of Jermaine and Shaq is of course to help the C’s buy time until Perk comes back hopefully late next season…but also to give them more length to match up against LA if they should meet again in the finals.
A Garnett – Perk – Shaq – Jermaine – Baby big man front court rotation is going to be a tough match up for opposing teams to deal with….throw in Rasheed if he pulls a PG Brown and comes on board prior to the playoffs and the C’s will be even more tough to beat heading into the playoffs.
I agree with TomHamilton
And a lot of others do too. Ray Allen was terrible in Game 7 and I do blame him for our loss. I’m sorry he had a bruised thigh, but that is NOT THE POINT. I love Ray and realize he had problems with his child and totally understand him not playing well, but it’s somebody’s job to replace him when he’s choking. No problem.
Ray can have very bad games and lose us games
That’s fine with me because he’s won us tons over the years. However, it’s not entirely him in game 7. Blame the coaching staff too, he’s having this ofer type of game and they gambled on the numbers game that the offensive and defensive numbers crap is better with Ray on the floor and we all lost on that gamble!!! Doc rode his stinking game needlessly until the end. I think the bench should have played a larger role in game 7. I’ve always said, if Phil Jackson had the guts to play Vujacic in a freaking game 7 when he barely played the entire playoffs, why didnt Doc play his bench more. I love Doc but sometimes he gets outcoached like that. That being said, it’s done with, if that loss doesn’t give the C’s motivation to win it all this year, I dont know what!!
leonitus...
interesting post and questions regarding bench options.
Jermaine didn't leave the Heat, the Heat chose not to sign him
Get your facts straight. You think they would have wasted that much on a guy who quit on the team at the end of the year in the playoffs.
have to disagree
O’Neal tried to play hurt and it showed in his performance. I wouldn’t call that quitting. Just the opposite.
O’Neal said he could have signed with the Heat and I’ll take him at his word. Whether it was for less, we don’t know at this point. And no doubt we will find out if it was mistake to give him that much. But who would you have signed in his place?
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