Jermaine O'Neal Wants to Shut it Down

It's hard to square his play as of late with his comments about sticking with Indiana, improving and making his team a winner. I think it's the knee unfortunately.

 

yeah health has always been an issue for him unfortunately but when healthy he is one of the few players that will give you 20/10/2-3 blocks pg.

shame i do like him but the management in indiana has made what was once a powerhouse into a mediocre at best team. it all started to go downhill after the brawl in detroit.

i do think its mainly health but having to come back to play for a team like indiana probably didnt help his motivation for coming back.

He is still young if his knee can hold up I can see him returning to a different team in a year or two (if all the legal issues with his contract is cleared up)

 

But even when healthy he has a career FG% of 46%, never having a season above 50%. For a PF like Dirk, that may be ok (though Dirk did finally shoot over 50% last year), but for a more traditional back to the basket PF like Jermaine, that inefficiency really is painful.

But not to hate on the guy's game...I do like him

And believe it is about the knee. I'm only 28 years old. I get injured playing basketball ALL the time. Most of those I can play through or only sit out a week and be okay. And granted, I don't have personal trainers, free time to stay in perfect shape, etc. But on the other hand, I don't play 82 games over a 6 month time frame. Right now, I haven't played in almost 2 months, because, even though I wear ankle braces, I tried to block a shot, came down on the top of someone else's foot, and seriously rolled my right ankle...had to go to the doctor, rehab it, blah, blah, blah. I'll start playing again soon, I think.

Sometimes players get injured. And real bad injuries can become repetitive and/or career threatening. Ask Grant Hill. Michael Dickerson, Jamal Mashburn...or any number of other players. I'm surprised more players aren't injured more seriously in basketball. It's a sport that really lends itself to injury, imo.

 

I disagree that Indiana's management ruined the franchise.

--The Artest trade was the result, of course, of Artest's mutiny. The Pacers did everything they could to commit to him and avoid the situation-- after that, they were lucky to get anything in return.

Peja was something.

But Peja quit on the team during the playoffs, and was offered undeserved money by a team desperate to make noise in free agency. Letting his gimp-ass go to New Orleans was the right move.

--The Granger pick was a steal. As a wing he does everything Artest does on offense, only much more intelligently.

--The Warriors acquisitions were perfect in hindsight, since Murphy and Dunleavy are Jim O'Brien-style players. That team can spread the floor and, unlike O'Brien's past teams, rebound-- even as they front opposing bigs. I think they can win a playoff series against Detroit for that reason. I also think their team is tougher than Detroit's.

 

The fact that he rushed back too fast from the surgery to help his team in the first place nullifies any argument that he is quitting on the team.

 

He sucks. Fake franchise player that won't lead a team anywhere. Tying up money in a guy like that will kill a team.

 

Now that is just flat out funny and sad at the same time.

DD

 

He has killed my fantasy team.

You suck!

 

sounds like a swap for Carter would be perfect and the irony mouthwatering

 

"I know, right?"

 

its so funny that some guys can put up franchise numbers but are not franchise players. he's a classic example. its really unexplainable but you know it when you see it.

 

only 29 and already his body failing horribly. I never understood why ppl orgasmed themselves over someone 18 vs someone 22 coming into the NBA. The years take equal toll on their bodies, Dwight Howards been in the league 4 years, his age doesn't matter as far as I see it. Same with Darko, hell, Darko is past his prime already it seems like

 

I don't think that's really the case though, this guy hardly played his first three years in the league, meanwhile kobe has hit his stride.

 

True true, I seriously think Kobe is a rare case though because he barely needs his freak athleticism to score 40 a game unless someone like say Dwight in 5 years or so when he starts to slow down, everyones body is different though so you never know.

 

He has been struggling with injuries for years now. I think he's broken down. I'd be interested in hearing Pacer Tom's take on this though. If he thinks differently than I do, I'll defer to him. He certainly has a better grasp of the Pacers than I do.