Shaq says move to Boston is all about winning

Basketball Betting Lines

08/10/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shaquille O'Neal brought his effervescent smile to Boston on Tuesday and said he hopes to bring another title to the NBA's most-storied franchise.

Dressed in a suit with a bow tie, although not green like the Celtics' leprechaun mascot, O'Neal said in his introductory press conference that signing a two-year deal with Boston is all about winning.

"Very honored to be here," O'Neal said Tuesday. "The franchise has a rich tradition of winning. It wasn't a tough decision to make. I just wanted to be with a great team with a chance to win. I look forward to a great year."

The Celtics own the most NBA titles with 17 and came just short of another last year with a seven-game loss to the Lakers in the NBA Finals. O'Neal won three titles with Boston's arch-rivals from 2000-02 and added another with Miami in 2006, but failed in his most recent venture to "win a ring for The King" in Cleveland with LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

Now, he'll try to stop James and the Heat's new Big Three by joining Boston's Big Three of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.

"We match up well with anybody," O'Neal added. "We're just going to play, and hopefully at the end we'll be [in the hunt for a championship]."

O'Neal, 38, will provide frontcourt help for Boston, which had already added Jermaine O'Neal this offseason and will likely be without center Kendrick Perkins for the start of the 2010-11 campaign because of a knee injury he sustained in the playoffs.

"We have always been an in-to-out basketball team and we got away from that last year and we want to get back to that this year," noted Celtics head coach Doc Rivers. "There's a lot of areas where he helps our basketball team and size is one of them. We think we filled that void today."

O'Neal averaged 12.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in 53 games with the Cavaliers last year and will join his third team in three seasons. He played the 2008-09 campaign with Phoenix.

While he played 75 games for the Suns two years ago, the future Hall of Famer has been slowed by injuries for a majority of the past five seasons and his production has dropped.

"I think I will be a good fit here," O'Neal commented about his perceived role with the club. "I realize I'm much older now. In order to win, you have to sacrifice because at the end of the day it's all about winning."

O'Neal is a 15-time All-Star and was the NBA Finals MVP from 2000-02 when he led the Lakers to three consecutive titles. He was also the league's MVP in 2000.

Since being selected as the top overall pick in the 1992 draft by Orlando, O'Neal has averaged 24.1 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.3 blocks in 1,170 career games with the Magic, Lakers, Heat, Suns and Cavaliers.

He also has appeared in 214 career playoff games, averaging 24.5 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. O'Neal ranks fifth all-time with 28,255 career points, and is 14th all-time in total rebounds 12,921.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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