Celtic Lineups and Shaq (a.k.a. The Big Plus-Minus)

My earlier post today got me interested in knowing the performance of the Celtics using lineups that included Shaq compared to their performance using lineups that did not include him.  82games.com has data for the ten most commonly used lineups for the Celtics through the first 23 games.  Go to 82games.com and see the data for yourself.   There are two important trends to note here:

1. The Celtics most frequently used lineup is Shaq plus the Big Four (KG, Allen, Pierce, Rondo).  It is far and away the most productive unit the C's employ.  Not only is the best one the Celtics have, it is one of the best in the NBA.  (Click here to a better view of the whole league.)  Take out Shaq and put in Glen Davis?  Yes, you can do that, but the overall performance drops off a steep cliff.
2. The Rondo-led lineups are better than the Robinson-led lineups.  No surprise there.  (See 82games.com:  items #1-3 are Rondo and #4-6 are Robinson).  However, the best combo of the Robinson lineups is Nate, Shaq, and the Big Three.  And once again, it is not even close.  Substitute Davis or Erden for Shaq at your peril.  

I have to admit that while Shaq has performed well to the naked eye at times, these data on lineups still shocked the heck out of me.  Keep in mind that O'Neal is shooting a ridiculous 68.7% from the field, too.  He is probably not going to get enough field goals to qualify, but if he did, 68.7% would be the second-best FG rate of all-time.

The Celtics are doing a good job limiting his minutes, so he probably should not be an all-star, since he plays less than half of what the other stars in the NBA are playing.  But when he plays, he most definitely impacts the Celtics in a positive way.  Doc Rivers needs to do whatever it takes to ensure that he can coax this type of performance out of Shaq in the playoffs.