Tyring To Set A New Pace(rs)

My buddy John-O and one of his blogging pals, Shane, have both posted excellent thoughts on the current state of Indiana's other pro sports team, the Pacers. You can read those here and here. These excellent posts inspired me to write my own. Having lived in Indy most of my life, and followed the Pacers the rest of it, I feel that it is time for me to also voice my opinion. Plus, I haven't been able to come up with much to write on lately with the NFL being over and all.

What got all this rolling was an article in which Jermaine O'Neal, a former NBA All-Star and the current face of the Pacers, stated that, essentially, either the Pacers contend immediately or he's out. The two posts touch on the leadership ability, or lack-there-of, of O'Neal, his on court talent, and what the Pacers should do going forward. I have a slightly different take.

I, to be honest, am not much of a fan of Jermain O'Neal anymore. When the Pacers first acquired him, I thought it was one of the more inspired acquisitions in the recent history of the team. Here was a kid that, though extremely raw at the time, had an unlimited ceiling. He could score, defend, block shots, he was a great athlete, enjoyed playing in the post, and was a good kid that just wanted the chance he wasn't getting in Portland. Well, he got his shot here, and made the most of it. He quickly emerged as a force in the Eastern conference. He started averaging near 20 points and 10 rebounds every season, and was a fixture on All-Star and All-NBA teams everywhere. Then something happened, and that all changed, as least on the surface. Reggie Miller retired.

As both John-O and Shane point out, Reggie was the unquestioned leader of the Pacers, even when he was not much more than a role player. Well, once he retired, that mantle fell to O'Neal, and while most #2's take this chance and run with it, J.O. did the opposite. He seemed to lose a lot of the desire, heart, and ultimately "game" that had made him a superstar. He began to struggle against lesser players. Seemed to shy away from the big shot. Even seemed to attempt to return to his role as option two giving the reigns to Ron Artest and later Stephen Jackson. In one short year, O'Neal had gone from one of the better power forwards in the league to maybe not the best player on his team.

I, honestly, was not all that surprised by this. I have not been a big O'Neal fan since the 2004 season. In '04 O'Neal had one of his better years statistically. He averaged 20 and 10, along with 3 blocks while shooting near 50% from the floor and near 75% from the foul line en route to finishing third in the MVP voting. The Pacers had the best record in the NBA at 61-21 and seemed poised to make another run to the NBA finals. Well, O'Neal came down with one nagging injury after another throughout the playoffs and was essentially not there in the Eastern Conference finals against Detroit, which the Pacers ultimately lost.

Now, I am not saying he wasn't hurt. I am sure he was. Playing in the post is a tough job. My point is this: great players play hurt when the season is on the line. The two guys that finished ahead of him in the MVP voting, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan also a post players, and they seemed to stay healthy enough to play. Garnett was even able to get his team to the Western Conference finals by his sheer will with one of the greatest single game 7's ever (36 pts, 21 rebs, 8 asts, and a game winning 3 at the buzzer).

J.O. however seemed to shy away from the pressure. He seemed to be almost looking for a reason to not have to put the team on his back. That Pacers team was far better than the Pistons, even with Rasheed Wallace. It just seemed that when a big play needed to be made, the Pacers' leader either couldn't, wouldn't, or didn't make it.

That was the last time the Pacers were a relevant team in terms of winning in the NBA. They have, unfortunately, been relevant for other reasons, and I think J.O. is involved here as well. The Pacers have, in the past 3 years been involved in numerous on and off the court scandals including the worst brawl in league history and multiple bar fights. To me, this speaks to the make up of the team.

Now, this is not a soap box for me or anything like that, but in the past, when guys like Reggie, Mark Jackson, Dale Davis, etc. were around, these things wouldn't have happened. So where is J.O. in all of this? First he is saying that if the Pacers trade Artest then maybe they should trade him too. Then he is backing Stephen Jackson and Jamaal Tinsley as good people, great teammates, and close friends.

The Pacers in the last few years have been a reincarnation of the Pat Riley Knicks, and this falls on the coaches and management too. Marginal on court performance, but plenty of off court stuff to write about. To me, this speaks to leadership, as John and Shane have said. O'Neal should've been out if front of all of this stating that this is not how professionals should act, and not giving excuses for his teammates. There should've been closed door meetings where J.O. was letting the rest of the team know that these kinds of things were unacceptable of a team that considers themselves contenders.

Did he do any of this? No. In fact, more times than not, it was other players who were saying anything at all. J.O. was relatively mute on the whole thing. Do you think for a second that Jordan, Bird, Magic, Worthy, etc. would've stayed quite about these incidents, even if the accused players were their friends? Absolutely not.

Now, John-O and Shane both refer to J.O. as a great player, but a bad leader. I think most, smart people would agree with them. I, however, disagree. I think he is a good/very good player and a bad leader. I think he was, at one time, a great player, but that died in 2004. Now, he is not much more, in my opinion, than a weighty salary keeping this team just good enough to lose in the first round of the playoffs every year. Is this good enough Indy? Are you content with getting to, and then losing in, the playoffs every year? I would hope not. If you are then you all should've eased up on Peyton a few years ago.

I completely agree with John-O and Shane's assertions that it might be time for a change. I would've also liked to have seen it earlier in the year. As John-O states, why not put your name in the Greg Oden hat and see what happens. As they both mention, the Pacers currently have a great piece to build around in Danny Granger, who is one of the more unknown yet talented guys in the league (just think Josh Howard but as a better athlete). Even if they didn't get Oden, to me, there is a greater upside in starting the re-building now, and trading O'Neal now to get something for him.

There are 8-10 teams that are much closer to winning a title than the Pacers that would love a solid big man who can score and defend. Look at Chris Webber to the Pistons. He was a guy that was past his best years, but still a very good player and he has turned them into a real force in the East. This is exactly what O'Neal could do. Go somewhere an be option 2,3, or even 4 and make a good team very good or even great.

This, in all of our opinions I think, is the best move for all involved. The trade deadline is right around the corner and the Pacers are currently toiling around in the East's 5th playoff spot. Will Donnie and the boys throw away another first round exit to start the re-building? I doubt it, unfortunately. But, as a guy who would love to see both of his home town teams be great again, I would love to see it.