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Four more playoff questions you absolutely had to ask but were afraid to . . .

1. Will Shaq reduce the Net frontline to dental records?
Fee Fie Foe Fum. Shaq smells the blood of some low-post bum. Todd MacCulloch, Aaron Williams and Jason Collins, parsley on the side, an apple in one of their mouths, slightly glazed dripping in buttah. In the one game Shaq played against the Nets this year, he scored 40 points and grabbed 12 boards on 76 percent shooting. He's coming off of two Herculean efforts against the Kings in which he averaged 30.2 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks on 53 percent shooting over the seven-game war. Vlade Divac flopped, dropped stepped and pick and rolled the Daddy into big beads of sweat across his brow. But when all was said and done, no other center in the last 11 playoff series against the Lakers spanning three seasons and two NBA Titles and counting made the Daddy work harder. Maybe it was the big toe, the sliced fingers, the three clowns in black and white stripped costumes . . . whatever. Shaquille O'Neal must've heard someone talking about his momma, hit 24 of his last 32 free throws (that's 75 percent, kids) and tried to rip the rim from its hinges. Now he's New Jersey's problem and there will be little its three big stiffs will be able to do after they averaged a combined 15.6 points, 11.5 boards and 2.5 blocks in 54.3 minutes per playoff game this postseason at the two post positions. MacCulloch has the size but no foot speed. Williams is faster, but four inches shorter and at least 60 pounds lighter. Collins is a rookie. Stick a fork in all three. Not one of them is a threat from mid-range the way Divac and Chris Webber were. This may be stretching it a bit, but the three hit one three-pointer in four attempts in 221 combined games this season. Webber and Divac, on the other hand, hit 8 of 32. And if you can't get the bear out of the cave, you've got to go in after him. Do I have a volunteer to lead the party?

2. Is Beantown big enough for Tony Battie?
Paul Pierce this. Antoine Walker that. The Boston Celtics are back but believe it or not, it has more to do with Battie than those two. Pierce and Walker combined for 48.2 points per game this season but actually averaged more last year at 48.7. The team scored 1.8 points more this season but the big difference was on the defensive end, where they held opponents to 2.7 less points on 42 percent shooting, down from 46 percent last year. Pierce, Walker and Kenny Anderson remain the same. Rodney Rogers added some muscle down the stretch, but it was Battie who went from 845 minutes last year to 1,819 this season. He went from averaging 18 minutes per game two seasons ago to 27.7 in these playoffs. In the Eastern Conference Finals, he averaged 2.5 blocks and 9.7 rebounds in only 28.5 minutes. Stretch that out to 48 minutes and you've got 4.1 blocks and 16.3 boards per game. Compare that to league MVP Tim Duncan who, on a per 48-minute basis in the playoffs, averaged 4.8 blocks and 16.3 boards. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a match, at least on the defensive end, at about a third of the price.

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