Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he remains uncertain when ailing center Shaquille O'Neal will return to game action, but expressed heightened confidence Friday in his potential to do so in an Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Miami Heat.

"He just did a little bit yesterday, maybe some more today," said Rivers. "Really that’s the only update I have. No decision has been made or anything. I’m more confident now that he’ll play in this series. I don’t know when. Maybe [Game] 1, maybe [Game] 2. But I do think he’ll play.”

According to Rivers, O'Neal participated in limited portions of Thursday's walkthrough and there was hope he'd ramp up that workload a bit Friday, but Rivers wasn't sure how much live action he'd see.

"He just did some stuff with [team trainer] Eddie [Lacerte on Thursday]," said Rivers. "Eddie's more confident that he'll play, so that makes me more confident."