Shaq signs with Celtics

Basketball Betting Lines

08/04/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics have added center Shaquille O'Neal, announcing Wednesday the signing of the veteran big man.

O'Neal joins a Boston team that returns its core from last season, when the Celtics went to the NBA Finals before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.

O'Neal, 38, will provide frontcourt help for Boston, which already added Jermaine O'Neal this offseason. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, the Boston Globe reported it is a one-year deal.

Shaq spent last season with Cleveland, averaging 12.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in 53 games but came up empty in his quest to bring a title to the city along with now-departed LeBron James.

"It is not every day that you can add a player of Shaquille's caliber to your team," said Danny Ainge, Celtics president of basketball operations. "His past experience speaks for itself and we believe that he is a great fit for our roster."

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

In addition to the three Lakers championships, O'Neal won an NBA title with Miami in 2006 alongside Dwyane Wade.

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 the 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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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.