September 29, 2010
NEWPORT, R.I. - The first step was listening.
Coach Doc Rivers welcomed his Celtics back yesterday by putting them through a three-hour grind - a "playoff practice," as he called it - that left bodies aching. This was Jermaine O'Neal's and Shaquille O'Neal's first practice as Celtics, and getting through it required as much mental conditioning as physical.
"The first day's always challenging," said Jermaine. "Especially with a player coming in that's new. You've got different positions on the floor. Different defensive schemes. Different offensive schemes.". So when Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce chimed in with advice, they were all ears.
"They talked to me a lot today about certain schemes and certain areas that I need to be in," said Jermaine. "That's what we're going to need for us to be a good team." The Celtics brought in Jermaine and Shaquille as reinforcements for Kendrick Perkins, who will be out at least through February because of a torn ACL. How they fit in will play a major part in how the Celtics perform in the first half.
Yesterday, the two of them alternated between the first and second units. With more than three decades of NBA experience between them, they understand concepts quickly. "You can tell they really pick up things right away," said Pierce. "They're running through plays, they understand. Believe it or not, a lot of NBA teams run the same plays, except for Phil Jackson and the triangle.
"But those guys, they'll blend in nicely, especially on the offensive end. Picking up the defense, that's going to take a little time, but they'll get it." Rivers said he envisions Jermaine starting over Shaquille, but nothing was certain. And that is hardly the team's biggest concern right now.
Seeing the team run through yesterday's session made Rivers realize that conditioning was still an issue. He called a second session last night to address that. Shaquille O'Neal, who is listed at 325 pounds, said he more or less secluded himself on his farm in Sudbury, working out, doing yoga. He acknowledged, however, that there's a different level of conditioning he needs to be at and when he gets there, he is expecting only a certain amount of minutes from himself.
"There's a difference between being in shape and being in basketball shape," he said. "So I'm just going to run. I'm not going to be playing 30-40 minutes a game, but I can play 20-25 minutes all day. "So I'm still putting in the extra work back in the hometown where I live at, doing some yoga, doing some extra stuff at night with the guys. So I'll be ready." From the sidelines, Perkins watched, barking encouragement while watching two men compete for his spot in the lineup "I'm sure it's difficult," said Rivers. "That's going to be tough for Perk. I've been there. That's going to be a tough thing to do. He's a great kid, he'll get through it, but it's not going to be easy."
Though both additions offer more offense than Perkins, they'll have to work to develop the same relationship that made Perkins and Garnett one of the best defensive frontcourts in the league. That type of communication could be impossible to teach "It's hard," Perkins said. "It's either in you or not. With me and KG, it was just an instant connection. He's just got to develop that trust with the other guys. Once he gets that trust that he knows that Jermaine will be there or Shaq will be there, we'll see how it goes."
After just one practice, that communication was the first thing that stuck out to Jermaine O'Neal. "One thing I saw today was that we are able to talk through everything, no matter what it is," he said. "If you make a mistake, we have so many veteran guys out here that can make up for the mistake that it works out in the long run. "I knew about it, I played against it, I knew how they played. It was very physical, very direct. Everybody has to be on the same page for it to work and we hold everybody to a certain standard."
It's only one day, but Garnett said he and Jermaine O'Neal had chemistry. "J.O. and I haven't played basketball with each other, but it felt like we have played with each other, if that makes any sense," Garnett said. "Just communication and our schemes
"I think Jermaine's going to find out things are a little more simple with the fact that we do help each other. We do share the ball here, and if a guy has it going, then we try to milk that guy. "With the veterans that we have, it's about consolidating the ball and making sure we're consistent."
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