Jermaine O’Neal About to Prove Me Wrong
Photo. Steve HillI can admit when I’m wrong – and I’m pretty close to doing that today. When the Raptors dealt for Jermaine O’Neal in the offseason, I kind of laughed to myself. I remember thinking it was a gamble for the Raptors because while they clearly needed to move T.J. Ford, I could easily picture J.O. either not being able to play with Chris Bosh, only playing a handful of games all season because of injuries, or both.
When the season started, I thought Jermaine looked awful. He looked old, slow, and unable to adjust to his new team. Then after watching him turn in a five-point, nine-rebound mess last weekend against the Bobcats, I thought J.O. was a wrap, destined to play out his days as a role-playing serviceable backup to Bosh.
And then Jermaine snapped out of it, almost like his Sunday clunker shocked him back to basketball life. What followed was three-straight double-doubles, highlighted by this afternoon’s 11-point, 18-board, two-block domination of the Heat. While the point totals aren’t huge (they could have been – he only went 4-14 from the floor), Jermaine owned the paint, altering tons of shots and starting the Toronto break over and over again. O’Neal looked strong, played aggressively, played with emotion, and showed that he can put up numbers in games when Bosh does as well (CB4 had 27 and seven).
You know you’re going to get stellar play from Bosh all season long, but if O’Neal keeps improving and they can stay healthy, Toronto will be a problem for teams come playoff time. I can’t think of a bigger X-factor in the East.
November 16th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
jnuh says:
As long as JO is really ok with not scoring as consistently high as he did in his salad days in Indiana & he continues to solidify the middle of the lane with rebounding, blocked shots & physical toughness the Raptors are gonna cause some damage this year.
Obviously he needs to stay healthy, but when isn’t that the case for a pro athlete?
November 16th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
dmitry of jersey says:
he only proved your wrong in terms of not being slow and old… a couple good games doesnt me he will play 82 games this year. i’m not buying his resurgence until he maintains it without injuries.
November 16th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
K Dizzle says:
Great last 3 games by J.O. It’s also important to know that he been doin this without the 2nd leadin assist man in the league so easy buckets are harder to come by. Once JC comes back, if O’Neal maintains that defensive presence, that 4-11 shooting goes to 7-11 and makes the Raps that much tougher to guard. Lovin what the Raps and Hawks are doin this season
November 16th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
JCARR says:
JO has at the most two seasons left in him… Raptors better take advantage of his presence. Do you think that in time he will be like the JO of the Pacers era? Or are nights like this his best effort? (except so many rebounds)
November 16th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Kevin says:
Yeah mutha fucka!!!!
November 16th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Top_Gun says:
I saw a Boston/Raptors game and he had 20 something points and 10 rebounds or something…Even if he doesn’t score a lot, i think they brought him in for his D.
November 16th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Joaquin says:
He’s key to the Raps this year coz he anchors the D and lets Bosh do his thing in the offense. I really hope we get an injury-free season from JO. I remember seasons ago when Indiana was pushing him for MVP. He was a real beast.
November 16th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Blue says:
JO is a punk!!! he has a good 3 inches on Haslem and he only outscored him by 1 point and he took 6 more shots. plus he’s just a punk…thinks he’s a helluva lot better than he actually is.
November 16th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
MSkittle says:
Exactly, Patrick! Him and Bosh are looking like a fearsome twin towers.
November 17th, 2008 at 12:22 am
shogun says:
Blue, the only punk around here is YOU! did you even watch the game or just look up the box score??? yeah he didn’t have a great offensive night, but JO dominated on D (especially in the 4th) and had 18 boards – but I guess only points matter to you. moron.
November 17th, 2008 at 3:50 am
ab_40 says:
JO was a beast on D last night and he finally looked quick on his feet which is a good thing:D. Bargiani in the starting lineup was a good move for em. And whoever says miami are contenders is kinda stupid the hole wasn’t made in the ground. their frontline stands 6-8 6-8 and 6-7 this ain’t the 40s and 50s you need bigs. no knock on haslem and beasley but a huge knock on ‘the matrix’ I think he’s the most overpaid player who’s playing so nog the jerome james and damon joneses of the leauge. He wanted offensive freedom now he got it and he doesn’t use it because he knows his handles arn’t up to par.
November 18th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Dave says:
Jermaine is still making that transition from go-to guy to the player that does the dirty work and is a secondary scorer.
His work on the boards has been much better recently but he can do more both defensively and on the backboards.