MIAMI -- Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal was in the
starting lineup Monday night for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference
finals against the Detroit Pistons.
O'Neal's availability was a question mark right up until
gametime, and a red-clad sellout crowd erupted in cheers when he
was announced among Miami's starting five.
There was another huge cheer when he made the game's first field
goal for a 2-0 lead. He made his first four shots and went to the
bench for the first time with 6:36 left in the quarter and Miami
leading 15-13.
"We might not really know until the ball goes up," teammate
Dwyane Wade had said earlier Monday.
O'Neal has been hampered by a bruised right thigh throughout the
postseason, and he missed the Heat's final two second-round games
against Washington. He practiced Saturday, then did not practice
Sunday, but said he was hopeful to play.
The Heat had another injury problem after Udonis Haslem
dislocated the middle finger on his left hand at Sunday's practice.
But Haslem, Miami's starting power forward, started.
"It's painful, but it's nothing I can't deal with," he said.
For the Pistons, guard Richard Hamilton has been slowed by a
bruised calf -- an injury he expected to heal over the weekend after
Detroit finished off the Indiana Pacers in the second round.
"We're trying everything from massage to stimulation to ice and
everything else. I guess it's one of those things that just will
get better with time," Hamilton said.
But by far the biggest injury concern was what Miami was
experiencing with O'Neal, who had never missed a playoff game in 11
seasons until Game 3 of the series against the Wizards.
O'Neal's teammates, who were taken to dinner by the center at a
South Beach steakhouse on Sunday night, were happy to see him
taking part in the shootaround.
"It was very encouraging," Haslem said. "I think it brought a
whole new spirit to the team."
Pistons center Ben Wallace, who will draw the primary defensive
assignment on O'Neal, fully expected to see him in uniform for the
start of Game 1.
"No players get to this point by not going out there and
playing through pain. You definitely cannot be a factor in this
league if you're not willing to play through a little pain. So a
guy like Shaq, he's been there before and knows what it takes, so
there's no question in my mind over whether he'll play."