INQUIRER Sports

CLEVELAND ? Shaquille O'Neal returned to practice with the Cleveland on Monday, and hopes he can play in the Cavaliers' NBA clash at Detroit on Wednesday.

And the NBA veteran was full of praise for the team, who insisted on treating his sore shoulder with rest and physical therapy, rather than a cortisone injection.

"You can tell it's a great organization," said O'Neal, who joined the club prior to this season.

"I was cursing and screaming and trying to make them shoot me up, but they wouldn't do it," he said.

O'Neal missed five games after he tried blocking a dunk by Miami's Michael Beasley on November 12. He called the injury a strained rotator cuff, but wouldn't say which shoulder he hurt.

"My hat goes off to them for being above board. I'm from the old school. If it ain't broke, let's just keep going, shoot it up with whatever is legal. But they refused me many times," O'Neal said.

Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said there was no reason for the team to push O'Neal and risk further damage to the shoulder.

"It's early in the season, but even if it's late, we don't want to rush anybody back," he said.

"We understand this is a business for them. They have families to take care of. There's no need to rush anyone out there without them being right," he added.

In O'Neal's absence, the Cavaliers went 4-1.

They were also coping with injuries to Anderson Varejao and Jamario Moon, but superstar LeBron James averaged a league leading 34.3 points last week.