O'Neal to play against Pistons

Shaquille O'Neal is set to return to the Miami Heat starting line up when they take on the defending NBA champions the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals. O'Neal hasn't played since Game 2 of the East semis with Washington.

The world champion Detroit Pistons are certain the big man will take his place on the court with Ben Wallace declaring, "Shaq is going to be ready to play. Don't keep feeding into that. There's nothing wrong with Shaq."

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Rasheed Wallace underlined the value of Shaq saying, "It doesn't matter if he's 100 percent, 55 percent, he's still going to demand that double team and special attention. To me, he's the greatest player on earth."

Miami is averaging 106.5 points on 51.1 percent shooting after sweeping New Jersey and Washington with young gun Dwyane Wade averaging 28.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 8.4 assists in those eight games. With O'Neal sidelined with a virus, the Pistons held Wade to only five points in 21 minutes when they beat the Heat 80-72 in Miami on April 10.