Posts tagged ‘Jermaine O’Neal’

Jermaine O’Neal might actually be playing tonight for the first time since mid January.  He’s coming back just in time to help this team pick up a key win against New Jersey and lead them down the stretch and possibly into the playoffs.  If you are one of those people that think the Pacers are better without O’Neal, you’re crazy.  This is definitely going to help them make the playoff push and possibly give the team an idea of how good they could be next year and what their biggest needs are.   Also, Marquis and TD did not participate in the shootaround today and are questionable for tonight’s game.  Hopefully they can pull out a W against an inconsisntent New Jersey squad.

Donnie Walsh is leaving after this year. I realize he was looking at leaving the Pacers for a few years now but it seems to me he chose the worst time to leave. He was ana amazing GM and CEO that led the Pacers to 6 Eastern Conference Finals and the 2000 NBA Finals. He constantly revamped the lineup keeping the team competitive. He assembled one of the best and most loved roster in Pacers history with Mark Jackson, Reggie Miller, Derrick McKey, Antonio Davis, Dale Davis and Rik Smits. Also, he did a good job of working in young players like Al Harrington and Jalen Rose into the mix as the group aged. After the 2000 finals, he pulled a move that would again revitalize the franchise. A move the franchise is still relying on. He traded Dale Davis for Jermaine O’Neal, which in hindsight is an obvious benefit for the Pacers but at the time it wasn’t so clear. O’Neal was unproven at the time and Dale was loved by the people of Indiana. Walsh trusted his scouts and his ability to see talent (i.e. 1987 draft: Reggie Miller over Steve Alford) In 2002, Walsh again traded aging veterans for young talent and made it pay off when he got rid of Travis Best, Jalen Rose, Norm Richardson and a couple draft picks for Ron Artest, Brad Miller, Kevin Ollie and one other. This would be the start of the Pacers climb back up to the top of the Eastern Conference with a roster with Reggie Miller, Stephen Jackson, Ron Artest, Jermaine O’Neal and Brad Miller. They constantly challenged Detroit for the Beast of the East title. All-in-all Walsh was a great GM and CEO that had a knack of bringing in young talent and making it pay off in Ws. It is the end of another era for the Pacers leaving the franchise wide open to make a new legacy (good or bad) for itself.

Now enough of the nostalgia, the real question is whether this is good for the team. I would say an emphatic NO. The Simons left Larry Bird with all the player personnel power, which I do not think is a good idea because of his track record. He brought in Sarunus Jasikevicius and guaranteed him a three year deal and now where is he? Back in Europe where he should have been all along. You remember the play of James White?? Neither do I. Probably becaus he never starred for the Pacers even after Bird gave him a guaranteed two year deal for a 2nd round pick. Now he’s brought in Travis Diener to be the backup for Jamaal Tinsley. I have never really been a fan of Diener because he does not have the ability to score or defend consistently in the NBA. In my mind, those are three bad decisions solely on Bird’s shoulders. None of those give me confidence. If his best move as GM so far is bringing in Travis Diener, that’s not much to hang your hat on. Bird said he always had people doubting him when he played and the pressure hasn’t changed now, but I don’t think people questioned his decision making when he led the Celtics to multiple championships.

If it isn’t obvious yet, I would have prefered Walsh to stay and Bird to go. I realize shakeups needed to be done but I wish this was not what was going to be shook up. Bird has done nothing besides be “Larry Legend” during his time as team President. Just like M.J. and Isaiah, I don’t think Bird is cut out for being in the front office. Hopefully he proves me wrong and makes some moves in the off-season to help this team.

I mentioned this in one of the episodes, but wanted to type it out to get my point across.

Just here me out on this first.  I realize this team has had more off-the-court incidents than any other team in the NBA.  Most people would say that is the reason the Pacers are so bad now.  I would agree with them that it is ONE reason why.   The other reason, in my mind, is the loss of Jonathan Bender.  This team and franchise was looking at him as their next superstar.  He was supposed to step into the shoes of Reggie Miller.

Bender had all the qualities of a rising superstar.  He had an outside jumper that he could shoot over anyone, athleticism, quickness, a good basketball IQ.  He was a tough matchup when he was playing and would be one of the toughest matchups in the NBA if he was still playing.  He would be 26 reaching his prime with 8 years of NBA experience under his belt.  His 6′ 11″ frame would  be impossible to guard.  Not even Bruce Bowen would be able to shut him down.  If you put a typical 2 guard on him (6′6″), he could shoot over them.  If you put a guy with his size on him, you would be rolling out the red carpet for him to drive to the hoop.  He showed a good combination of penetration and quality shot selection as a youngster that was oozing with superstar.  He would easily be averaging atleast 2o points and 5 rebounds a game.  Atleast 20 & 5.  Most likely he would be an all-star and the team’s go-to guy.  The only player comparable to him with size, speed, and athleticism is Lamar Odom.  But Bender can shoot better than Odom, is more athletic than Odom, and more assertive than Odom.  So basically he is a better version of Lamar Odom.

The reason I think he is a huge reason this franchise is in a downfall is because of the team’s depence on him to be the next big time player.  When you lose a player with superstar potentia, it is devastating to a franchise.  Even with last year’s trade with Golden State, the team would have a killer lineup that would be perfect for Jim O’Brien’s offensive system.  They would be starting Tinsley, Bender, Dunleavy, Granger and O’Neal.  Talk about a lineup that could run and shoot.  The Pacers could spread the floor with Bender, Dunleavy and Granger around the perimeter.  Tinsley could penetrate with multiple options to kick it out to for threes.  Also, Jermaine would be able to easily get one-on-one isolations in the post and without a double team because of the lineups shooters.  That would be a high scoring, high flying, WINNING lineup.  The Pacers, even this year, would easily make the playoffs with him.  They would most likely be a 3 seed behind two of the toughest teams in the NBA.  They would be one role player away from making a title run.  That’s how much of a difference Bender would make.  He would have this team competitive.

When a franchise loses a player of that quality, it is difficult to recover.  They are now looking for a new face to the franchise and a new superstar because Bender had to prematurely end his career.  Hopefully they’ve found a blossoming one in Granger and can draft another to try to take the place of a player that no one would have been able to stop.