Shaquille O’Neal revealed some secrets about the Boston Celtics in his new book set to hit shelves November 15.

“Shaq Uncut,” written with former Boston Globe writer Jackie MacMullan, contains excerpts from his short stint with the C’s.  Overall, he spoke well of the front office and head coach Doc Rivers, as well as players like The Big Three.

But O’Neal did reveal some secrets about his former teammates.  He dwelled more on the Rajon Rondo saga, explaining again the comments made by President Barack Obama that potentially sent Rondo’s season downward.

He did add some interesting tales about a conflict with Glenn Davis.  In a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, O’Neal wanted to “get off,” and despite his good position under the basket, Davis still would not pass the ball.

“‘Big Baby’ Davis kept looking me off and taking it himself.  Doc is shouting at him to go inside, but he won’t…So I go up to him and say, ‘If you ever miss me again I’m going to punch you in the face.’ I was hot.”

Apparently, Davis did not get the memo that O’Neal wanted the ball because two nights later, there was a similar situation.

“I’ve got my man isolated underneath the basket, and Baby ignores me and takes a jump shot.  So the next time we’re in the huddle I let Baby have it.  I tell him, ‘Pass the [expletive] ball inside.’  He comes back at me a little bit and now I’m really heated…I tell Baby, ‘You’re a selfish player.  Everyone on this team knows it.’  Hey, all the fans knew it.”

All I know, if O’Neal threatened to punch me in the face for not giving him the ball, I would not make that mistake again.  But Davis seems to struggle comprehending stuff like that, so it appears he is just lucky that he avoided potential permanent damage to his face.

Happy Halloween, Celtics fans!

As we sit and wait for the NBA lockout to end, let’s be reminded of the awesomeness that this holiday can bring.  Take a look back at Halloween 2010 when Shaquille O’Neal sang Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams”.

Enjoy!

Since Shaquille O’Neal retired from the NBA in June, he has taken on many new career paths.  He will be running for undersheriff in Lake County, Florida, and he is pursuing his options as a TNT analyst.

After speaking with the New York Times, O’Neal could also add another position to his resume.  He has mentioned in the past that he has interest in owning an NBA team, and already has plans in mind.

“I’m looking forward to bringing a team to Newark.  I haven’t spoken to Mayor Booker about it yet, but I’m working on it.  I know Newark can support an N.B.A. team.  And I”m going to be one of the guys that’s going to bring a team there.”

The New Jersey Nets are moving to Brooklyn for the 2012-2013 season, so Newark could be a realistic possibility if O’Neal decides this is something he is serious about.

Shaquille O’Neal was brought to Boston to fill the early season void from Kendrick Perkins’ absence due to his knee injury.  O’Neal signed a two-year contract and said after that, he was done.  Those two years turned into one with O’Neal’s retirement this June, but the big man may have been done a lot sooner than most thought.

There was no secret that O’Neal was aging, which was evident by his knee injury in late November, and the calf and Achilles tendon injuries that sidelined him beginning in February.  Danny Ainge and the Celtics had every expectation that O’Neal would be healthy for the playoffs, so they traded Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City.

When he recently spoke with the Times-Picayune, O’Neal apparently felt otherwise:

“I told them I might not be ready, and I’m definitely not coming back (the following season).  Those guys did what they’ve got to do.  I wasn’t surprised; I’ve seen it before.  They say all that blah, blah, but you know it’s always going to be something different.”

It is pretty obvious that trade was unsuccessful.  Perkins worked hard to return from his knee injury, and despite the full support from both his teammates and fans, the Celtics front office felt he was not worth keeping.

But seriously, how can you expect an injury-plagued 38-year-old to compete against the Howard’s and Bosh’s of the NBA?

More talk continues to surface about Shaquille O’Neal’s claims that President Obama is to blame for Rajon Rondo’s poor shooting late last season.  The Huffington Post reported last week that O’Neal’s book contains an excerpt discussing the encounter between the Celtics’ point guard and the President:

“In early March some of the guys went to the museum of Fine Arts for a fund-raiser and got to hang with President Barack Obama. Everyone was a little bit in awe. The President turns to Ray, points at Rondo, and says, ‘Hey, Ray, why don’t you teach this kid how to shoot?’  Everyone starts laughing.

KG told me he saw the look on Rondo’s face and the kid was devastated, embarrassed. Dissed by the President, even though I’m sure Obama didn’t mean any harm. Rondo smiled and went along with all of it, but KG told me he could see it in his eyes. It bothered Rondo. It killed him.”

There was a lot talk about these comments and whether to believe that Rondo was really affected by Obama’s comments.  ESPN’s Chris Forsberg got in on the conversation, and he provided these statistics:

Rondo before March 8: 50 games, 238 of 471 overall, 50.5 percent
Rondo after March 8: 18 games, 80 of 199 overall, 40.2 percent
Rondo full season: 68 games, 318 of 670 overall, 47.5 percent

Over all, Rondo was within a 10 point radius for the entire season.  So did Obama really affect Rondo’s shooting, or is everyone blowing this concept out of proportion?

Obama is not the first person to ever comment on Rondo’s shooting, nor will he be the last.  It is common knowledge that Rondo would rather drive to the hoop or pass the ball off than take a jump shot.  Just look at his defenders during the game.  They give him so much space that they cannot even be seen on the screen.

Rondo knows he is not a shooter.  But if he is going to let people’s comments affect the way he plays, then he might as well hang up his shoes and quit now.  Even Hall of Famers faced criticism for certain aspects of their game, but that obviously did not stop them from having successful careers.

There is the saying that “practice makes perfect,” but no one ever reaches that level.  Through hard work and a little more confidence, Rondo can improve his jump shot to better himself and his team, and silence his critics at the same time.