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Shaq to have thumb surgery on Monday


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Shaq to have thumb surgery on Monday

 

Shaquille O'Neal will have surgery on this right thumb in Baltimore on Monday, and a timetable for his return will be announced after that.

 

Surgery usually means a 6-8 week timetable for recovery, which means the appropriate question is whether or not he'll be able to return for the NBA playoffs, not the fantasy playoffs. Owners may want to wait until an official announcement is made, but we wouldn't do that at the expense of a hot free agent.

 

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Perfect timing via a bad scenario. Powe and Hickson will get more playing time and Verajao will start, getting more recognition. And when Z comes back he'll get to start a few weeks until Shaq gets back, which is also good.

 

On Briand Windhorst, who reports for the Cavs, twitter, he said Shaq should be back by the 2nd round earliest around. Now I'm actually nervous....I didn't realize the severity here.

Edited by Cleveland's Finest
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Perfect timing via a bad scenario. Powe and Hickson will get more playing time and Verajao will start, getting more recognition. And when Z comes back he'll get to start a few weeks until Shaq gets back, which is also good.

 

On Briand Windhorst, who reports for the Cavs, twitter, he said Shaq should be back by the 2nd round earliest around. Now I'm actually nervous....I didn't realize the severity here.

 

Yeah, it should be interesting. Do you think this will be a major or minor adjustment for the Cavs?

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This won't hurt Cleveland at all in the regular season...but if they play the Bobcats in the first round, and Shaq isn't back by then, I really don't know. Charlotte has all the goods to beat the Cavaliers, especially without the big force underneath the rim.

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Yeah, it should be interesting. Do you think this will be a major or minor adjustment for the Cavs?

 

We need Shaq come playoffs. We got him to face the Magic, Celtics, and Lakers. 4-1 against La and Orl is because of him partly. I'm not as confident in getting the best record in the NBA anymore.

 

However, during the regular season, we will now play at a faster pace, which is a plus for our team. Also, with no Shaq, that means Delonte, Mo, and Antawn will have more opportunities to score, which is good for them as we need them to settle in again.

 

And RD, I don't think Shaq is as much a concern against Charlotte. Trust me, I've been nervous for weeks thinking about us being eliminated in the first round by Charlotte and then just like that it's all over. However, with the acquisition of Jamison, I am much more confident in being able to score against this team.

Edited by Cleveland's Finest
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Twan can match up with Shard, am I saying he's a good defender? not really. However, he's got the size we didn't have last year Moon and Parker can also guard him...and as I said, as long as we get Shaq for the playoffs, meaning he's back by the ECF/2nd round to defend Dwight, I am not as worried.

 

What does Z have to do with this? He is an asset against any team because he stretches the floor, making it hard when guys like Dwight, Perkins, etc...aren't used to guarding outside the paint. Z is also big if we do indeed meet with the Lakers in the finals. I truly believe that Shaq and Z intimidate Pau and Bynum after seeing how well they handled them in every facet of the game when we played them in LA.

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I truly believe that Shaq and Z intimidate Pau and Bynum after seeing how well they handled them in every facet of the game when we played them in LA.

I wouldn't go that far. I don't think Bynum is intimidated by Shaq at all, honestly. Drew just plays like an idiot if he's not getting his touches, which is going to be tough to do while trying to gain post position on someone as big as Shaq, so he has to accept less.

 

Gasol is not intimidated by Ilgauskas, at all. Big Z is a finesse player. Pau is more intimidated by someone like Varejao, who doesn't mind playing physical defense.

 

That's why I was a little happy with the Jamison trade, rather than it being Amare. While Stoudemire isn't known for his defense, he HAS played physical on the defensive end when he's motivated (ask Tim Duncan), and he would probably cause Pau more problems at the end of the day over someone like Antawn, who I could probably score on.

 

Having a healthy, 100% Shaq is what Cleveland needs in the playoffs, every round...even against the Bulls, who could really do damage down low (particularly attacking the rim). Rose is more likely to drive in on Ilgauskas than Shaq. Because the Cavaliers have excellent help defense, I don't think they need to be concerned with teams killing them on the pick and roll as much -- that hasn't been the case yet, at least consistently. Shaq doesn't play 40 minutes.

 

Cleveland will be fine as long as they get him back by mid-April. Otherwise, they are going to have to cross their fingers for someone like Milwaukee in the first. Chicago probably couldn't beat them, but they would take them to six or seven...and I think the same can be said for Charlotte, as both teams would have to play four times in Cleveland. Problem is, no team wants to play six or seven in the first round, no matter who has HCA.

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