Shaq Is Close
By Marty Gitlin
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer
A comforting sight at practice Thursday in the massive form of Shaquille O’Neal has bolstered the hopes of the Miami Heat.
O’Neal won’t play Friday night at Golden State or the following night in Utah. He said he would need at least four or five practices to return, which could also count him out against his former Los Angeles Lakers team Monday night.
The Heat should benefit against the Warriors from the return of forward Antoine Walker and James Posey, who had been placed on the inactive list Jan. 3 for failing to meet team conditioning standards. Neither will start, however.
WagerWeb.com lists Miami as a 5-point underdog at Golden State.
WORSE THAN EXPECTED: Among the lone bright spots for Boston this season has been the continued development of guard Tony Allen.
Not anymore.
Allen, who had been averaging 20 points a game over the last two weeks, will miss the rest of the season with two torn ligaments in his left knee. His injury occurred when he landed awkwardly following a meaningless dunk late in a 97-84 defeat to Indiana on Wednesday.
The battered Celtics, who have lost eight of their last 10 games, are already missing leading scorer Paul Pierce with a stress fracture in his left foot. Forward Wally Szczerbiak will miss a week due to ankle injuries and starting guard Delonte West is out with a sore back.
The Toronto Raptors aren’t complaining. They are a 5.5-point favorites Friday night in Boston, according to WagerWeb.com.
BOYKINS BACKCOURT BOOST FOR BUCKS: The Denver Nuggets claimed they wanted to see diminutive guards Earl Boykins and Allen Iverson on the court at the same time.
They apparently didn’t like what they saw. Though the pair scored plenty of points, they presented matchup disadvantages. And with Carmelo Anthony returning after serving four more games of his suspension, they believed Boykins was expendable.
That’s why they traded the explosive 5-foot-5 bundle of energy to the decimated Milwaukee Bucks, along with guard Julius Hodge and cash for reserve guard Steve Blake.
Boykins, who has scored 20 or more points in eight of 10 games since the arrival of Iverson, should provide much-needed punch. The Bucks will be without starting point guard Mo Williams (shoulder) for 2-3 weeks, as well as backcourt mate and NBA fifth-leading scorer Michael Redd (knee) for at least a month. Starting forward Charlie Villanueva (shoulder) is also out indefinitely.
Boykins will help Milwaukee fans forget fellow waterbug point guard T.J. Ford, who was traded to Toronto during the offseason.
WagerWeb.com lists Milwaukee as a 6.5-point underdog Friday night in Philadelphia and Denver as a 2.5-point underdog against visiting Houston.
DRIBBLES: The Detroit Pistons had to be happy Thursday night. Only two games were played, but both of their top Central Division rivals lost. Chicago dropped its fifth in six, 86-83, to visiting New Jersey. It marked the second time in a week the Nets erased an 18-point deficit to defeat the Bulls, who fell behind Indiana into fourth place in the Central. Meanwhile, surging Cleveland was stopped dead in its tracks in a 109-90 loss at sizzling Phoenix. Suns point guard Steve Nash tied a personal best with 14 first-half assists and finished with 21 in just 31 minutes. The Pistons, who remain a half-game behind Cleveland, are 7.5-point favorites Friday night in Atlanta. … A home win against weak Charlotte on Friday night would vault New York to within a half-game of first place in the Atlantic Division. The Knicks are 6-point favorites, according to WagerWeb.com.