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For most of the 2010-11 NBA season the Boston Celtics have been the best team in the Eastern Conference. It wasn’t until they made a series of trade deadline moves and lost two O’Neals to injuries that they started to falter, and that allowed the hard-charging Chicago Bulls to claim the top spot. Now it seems unlikely that the Celtics will own the East’s top seed when the playoffs start later this month, but the stretch of games they’re playing right now should go a long way towards showing whether or not they’re ready to repeat as Eastern Conference Champions.

It started last night in San Antonio, where the Celtics grabbed a rare win over the homestanding Spurs (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili all played and played well), but that was really warm-up for what’s to come. They have five playoff teams still ahead, with the Atlanta Hawks, Miami HEAT, New York Knicks, and the surprisingly good Philadelphia 76ers all waiting to test their mettle. Even their head coach isn’t ready to predict how close his team is to being back to the championship-caliber club we saw earlier in the season.

"I don’t know," says Doc Rivers. "I think we’ve had signs of it of late. We had a couple of good first quarters this week, two quarters that I would take as our best of the season. The problem was the second through the fourth. Those didn’t go as well. But those were great signs, especially the Indiana game, watching Rondo attack and be aggressive again. That’s really important for us."

Rondo was brilliant on Thursday night in San Antonio, hitting from all over the court and attacking relentlessly en route to a 22-point, 14-assist night. The team did suffer yet another front court setback, as Nenad Krstic went down with a left knee injury and did not return, but on the bright side they got Jermaine O’Neal back after a three-month absence and he turned in a solid performance. He scored five points in 11 minutes, but three of those were on a crucial three-point play in the fourth quarter.

"He’s going to be fighting a lot of things," said Rivers of O’Neal’s return. "Number one the adrenalin, since he hasn’t played in three months or whatever; number two, remembering anything we do when you’re going at full speed; and the third and probably the biggest is just conditioning. It’s a lot to fight, but we need him back and we need the minutes. We have to use these last games for him, and also for Shaq when he comes back, we have to use them as practices for them. The other four guys will be playing in the game, but those two just need minutes and to play."

The timing of Jermaine O’Neal’s injury was particularly unfortunate, as he had just begun to figure out exactly how to play on a team with so many other super stars.

"Right before he went out, I told guys JO had really bought into his role," Rivers explains. "When he first got here it was a struggle. He was used to people looking for him. I remember after his first game he told me, ‘you know I can score down there (in the post).’ I said, ‘yeah, so can Kevin, Paul, Ray, and a lot of other guys.’ But he bought into it, he really did, and that’s tough for a guy who’s been the focal point for most of his career. Watching him in practice the other day I felt like he really had picked up right where he left off. He made some defensive plays that our guys were very excited to see again."

Nenad Krstic can relate to O’Neal’s adjustment issues. He came from an Oklahoma City Thunder team that was

"Part of it is coming to a championship team, and part of it is that he’s a pleaser. He wants to do well by everybody to the point where he’s struggling because every mistake is overblown in his head. I found myself yelling at him a couple of games ago to move forward. Usually you don’t yell at a guy to forget your mistakes, usually you’re yelling at a guy about the mistakes. I like him and he’ll fit eventually."

In the mean time, the Celtics are expecting Shaquille O’Neal back over the next couple of days, though Rivers was understandably hesitant to put an exact date on it. O’Neal has already missed a number of deadlines, but this time they really feel he’s close.

The Celtics have their work cut out for them if they’re to repeat as Eastern Conference Champs, much less grab their 18th NBA title. The Chicago Bulls aren’t slowing down, the Miami HEAT look deadly at times, and even the upstart Sixers might make some noise in the postseason. All of that said, if the Celtics play the way they did against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night they should be just fine. They looked very tough, indeed.

Circle April 7th on your calendar. The Celtics visit the Bulls in a game that could determine the top seed in the East.

Up Close: Jermaine O’Neal

The Boston Celtics were thrilled to have Jermaine O’Neal return to the lineup in San Antonio last night, and he looked good in limited action. He talks with HOOPSWORLD about his return and how difficult it’s been fitting in on a team where he’s not that star, but then we get to meet a young man who truly is doing something amazing – and you won’t want to miss this unheralded and unlikely friendship . . .the exclusive report is part of this interview:

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Surprise Player Of The Year?

The San Antonio Spurs don’t garner a lot of national attention, and that’s just the way they like it. They prefer not to be in the spotlight, even work hard to stay out of it, and as a result there are a number of really good Spurs stories that don’t get told. It’s simply easier to work with the teams that actually like media attention. One story that hasn’t had nearly enough run is the appearance and impact of rookie Gary Neal, who came to the Spurs seemingly from out of nowhere and has turned out to be one of the important factors behind their return to dominance. Originally little more than an injury replacement for rookie James Anderson, Neal quickly carved a niche out for himself and has been in head coach Gregg Popovich’s rotation ever since.

{AUTHOR_BOX}"You might think this is the least likely team for an unknown player to make, but I think this is the perfect team for an unknown guy to come in and fit in," Neal tells HOOPSWORLD. "The reason why is because everything’s already etched in stone. It’s been the same coach and same core guys, and all those guys are great people and great players and it just makes it a great opportunity for a guy like myself. It makes it easier, because there’s no pressure, no burden, because you have three superstars and a great cast of guys here who carry the burden night in and night out. Whatever a guy like my can pitch in is just an added bonus."

After going undrafted in the 2007 NBA Draft, Neal headed to Europe for three years. He believes the experience of playing professionally overseas was the key to being able to find success with the Spurs this season.

"I always felt like I had NBA talent, felt like I was an NBA player, but I didn’t get the opportunity to play out of college so I went overseas. I think being over there really helped me with my maturity and prepared me to deal with a great coach like Pop. Maybe at the age of 22 or 23 that would have been a little more difficult than doing it at 26. I think that was the biggest thing for me was just gaining the maturity of playing three years of professional basketball."

It’s a tough decision for players who don’t get drafted as they ponder a career in Europe or a run in the NBDL. For Neal, the decision was a no-brainer, but he doesn’t necessarily recommend the European route for everyone.

"I think it depends a lot on what’s going on with your family and your financial situation. I can only speak for me, but going to the NBDL wouldn’t have been good for me financially and it wouldn’t have been good for my family. I decided to go overseas because the money was better and for me that was the most important consideration. I had to have money for me and my family."

All in all, Neal has had a remarkable rookie season. Joining a championship-caliber team with three established stars, Neal has averaged over 20 minutes per game, contributing 9.6 points while shooting over 40% from three-point range. Even when he misses, it seems to be because the shot just rolled out. A normal rookie might be intimidated by his surroundings in San Antonio, but Neal is no normal rookie.

"Sometimes you catch yourself looking around at the trophies and the great players, but most of the guys who played for those championships are still here and the coaching staff is still here, so they don’t really give you a lot of time to think about that. They keep you hungry and humble and keep you working and stuff like that. It’s just a lot of hard work when you’re on the court with Hall-of-Famers and great players you want to make sure you do your part not to let those guys down. It’s just a lot of hard work and it keeps you focused on the task at hand."

So far, so good. Gary Neal is living his NBA dream and finding success with a team that does not forgive failure. It may have taken him a while to make it to the NBA, but Neal seems to have found just the right team at just the right time. He’s truly one of the great stories happening in San Antonio.

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NBA Chats: There are two NBA Chats today starting with Yannis Koutroupis’ weekly NBA chat at 10:30am EST. Yannis covers the San Antonio Spurs and is the Senior College Basketball reporter for HOOPSWORLD. Alex Kennedy will host his weekly NBA Chat at 1pm EST, so get your questions in early. Susan Bible will host her weekly NBA Chat tomorrow at 11am, if you want to get an early start. You can always find the next chat here: Upcoming NBA Chats.