Shaq's return to lineup delayed two more games

JP · 01-18-2007, 06:45 PM

Shaq's earliest return date: Sunday vs. red-hot Mavs

MIAMI -- The Shaquille O'Neal comeback watch will continue for at least a few more days.

O'Neal, who's recovering from surgery to repair torn left knee cartilage, will miss at least two more games before returning to the Miami Heat lineup, interim coach Ron Rothstein said.

That means he'll miss Miami's home game Thursday night against Indiana and the Heat's trip to Philadelphia on Friday. The earliest he could come back is Sunday, when the Heat host Dallas in a rematch of last year's NBA finalists, which Miami won in six games.

"Shaq is working out, feeling good, getting better day to day," Rothstein said after the Heat's shootaround Thursday morning. "That's it. Case closed."

Thursday's game will be the 32nd O'Neal has missed since the Nov. 19 surgery. He took part in a full-contact, five-on-five workout Wednesday for the first time since the operation and said a decision on playing against the Pacers hinged on how his knee responded from that test.

Rothstein said O'Neal did not have a setback and was able to take part in the shootaround, but stressed the team is continuing to exercise caution. O'Neal will continue working out on a daily basis.

"Each individual knows when they're ready," Rothstein said. "He wants to play. You think he wants to do all those court drills? It's much easier playing. But he's not ready to play yet, in any sense. Confidence in the leg, conditioning, wind. ... You've got to remember, he's 7-foot-1, 330 pounds. He's a different individual."

O'Neal was not available for comment Thursday morning.

When he returns, the Heat should have their full complement of regular-rotation players available for the first time since winning the NBA championship on June 20.

O'Neal has played in only four games, none of those with point guard Jason Williams, who missed the season's first seven games and five others since while continuing to recover from offseason knee surgery. Finals MVP Dwyane Wade also has missed six games with injuries.

"We understand as athletes that certain injuries to certain players take longer," Wade said. "This is a knee injury to someone who weighs 300-some pounds. We know it's going to take a little longer. We just want to make sure he comes back full strength. No matter how many games it takes, we know he's going to be there with us when we have to make our run."

The Heat entered Thursday with a 17-20 record, 4Ã‚Â½ games behind Washington in the Southeast Division standings and 5Ã‚Â½ games back of Cleveland for the top mark in the Eastern Conference.

Source: ESPN.com

StylesÃ‚â„¢ · 01-19-2007, 12:42 AM

Being in the Eastern Conference the Heat are steal easily in the race for the championship, in the Western Conference would be a bit more and they'd be fighting quite a bit, but Eastern Conference you can be 5 games under and make the playoffs, quite remarkable...

Nice to see Shaq coming back though, the delay in games is getting on my nerves, but It'll be nice to see him on the floor again...

The Wonder Chimp · 01-19-2007, 11:18 PM

It is nice to see him back, now that Riles is out for a while lol....but the East won't win the title this year, but they are in contention for the Conference crown for sure...he needs to probably do 20 pts 10 rebounds a game though to help them win the crown, or at least give them a chance.

Shaq's return to lineup delayed two more games

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