Hey guys, I am now starting a new series called The Pacers Years. It recaps the former Pacers that made great contributions to the squad. Today, I begin with Jermaine O'Neal, who is currently the starting center for the Miami Heat.
On September 1, 2000, the Indiana Pacers made a trade that changed their whole team's franchise for the next eight years to come. They traded big man Antonio Davis to the Portland Trailblazers for young, four-year pro Jermaine O'Neal. This was one of the smartest moves in Indiana Pacers history. He wasn't that all impressive with Portland, as his career-high year with that team was in his second year, 1997, averaging about five points and three rebounds per game. The Pacers were going to have a great power forward/center for years to come.
Nobody expected anything out of O'Neal that year, but he became a key role player quickly in his first year with all-star Reggie Miller, averaging about 13 points per game and about ten rebounds per game. It was a career-high, for now. He and his Pacers went towards a 41-41 record, and O'Neal kept improving and improving as he played a role in the NBA Playoffs. He averaged ten points and 13 rebounds per game in the Playoffs, which is very impressive actually. Although Indy did get swept by the Philadelphia 76ers there, the 2001-02 season looked to be a much larger success.
2001
During the 2001-02 season, O'Neal made a name for himself on the Indiana Pacers and in the NBA. He averaged about 20 points and eleven rebounds per game. With all that success and going up another level in his averages, it all paid off as he won the NBA Most Improved Player Award.
Said then Pacers' head coach, Isiah Thomas:
"When you see gifted people, those people have to work twice as hard as the normal guy because they have more skills. A guy who can only shoot, he can come in the gym and work on shooting for 45 minutes and go home. A guy who has a multitude of skills has to put more time in the gym to make sure he hones every part of his game. He has to go to A, B, C, D.
"Jermaine has worked his tail off to get to this level. And he's got to keep going."
O'Neal said he was "okay with the award," and he wanted to get to a point in which he "destroys the entire league." O'Neal was going to get his wish. In the Playoffs, the Pacers had an exciting series with the New Jersey Nets, but eventually lost after Kenyon Martin's ability to force O'Neal to average about 18 points and eight rebounds per game during the series.
Also, with Reggie Miller getting older and older as he was going to be 37 next year, it brought questions to the Pacers franchise. Could O'Neal be the new face of the franchise now that Miller is passing his prime? It was a tough question ask, but people were nodding yes. And with a strong supporting cast of Jamaal Tinsley, Brad Miller, Ron Artest, Al Harrington, and Reggie himself, what was to lose? Absolutely nothing. Nothing at all.
2002
O'Neal continued to improve as he entered the new 2002-03 season. O'Neal and his Pacers looked to be a very strong team this year. And when they were looking to be one, they were one, as the Pacers started out as the league-best team, starting out in a 14-2 record. The Pacers were the best until All-Star break after a Brad Miller injury. The Pacers finished 48-34, but the record didn't matter, all that did matter was they had a playoff berth.
O'Neal had a great year, averaging 21 points and ten rebounds, which made him one of the only players in the NBA to do a feat of averaging over 20 points and ten rebounds. Although the numbers were great and O'Neal had some awards that year, the team failed to reach success in the playoffs again, losing to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, 4-2. The Pacers were a first-round exit, for the third time in a row. They had to do something now.
But despite the playoffs failure, O'Neal went up to enormous heights in the playoffs. He had a career-high in the playoffs, averaging about 23 points and 18 rebounds. He was so close to a 20/20. It was truly astonishing to witness this and it was all going well for O'Neal as next year, he got his wish as the Pacers looked to be the best team in the NBA next year, in the 2003-04 season.
2003
During the 2003-04 season, this was when Jermaine O'Neal was officially named an All-Star caliber player. Everyone loved J.O. now and he was continuing to make noise. O'Neal was the phenomenon who came back. O'Neal's Pacers had an NBA-best that year of a 61-21 record. It was all going well here in the 2003-04 season and Reggie Miller continued to shine as well as Ron Artest making a name for himself, snatching the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. O'Neal also had another season of 20 points and ten rebounds. Wow!
The Pacers were also a hot team in the playoffs, marching past both the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, a team O'Neal will play for in five years. Everything was fine for the Pacers and were looking to go to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000 against the Los Angeles Lakers. They didn't, as the Pacers were sent home packing by the Detroit Pistons, losing in six games.
This was unacceptable. And what was more unacceptable was that next year, it would be "Boom Baby's" last season with not only the Indiana Pacers, but the whole NBA.
2004
Everybody was going to miss Reggie Miller as this was going to be his last NBA season. But let's look on the bright side, the Pacers can go to the Finals again. Miller was already a future-Hall-of-Famer, but he was still searching for that ring. He needed a ring, and it would have been great if his last year in the NBA would give him a ring. Let's what Jermaine O'Neal and the Pacers had to offer.
It didn't start well. Although the Pacers 6-2 heading into Detroit against the 4-3 Pistons, something happened that turned out to be one of the biggest brawls in sports history. It was known as the Mallace at the Palace. And certainly, there was a big brawl as Ron Artest led the way, eventually having the longest suspension in sports history. Coach Carlisle says he was "fighting for his life."
Thing were going crazy during the game. As the fight was wearing down, however, a Piston fan in the stands threw a cup of beer at Artest. Then Artest and Stephen Jackson ran up to the stands and starting beating up the man. Then another Piston fan came up to Ron Artest and shouted at him while Artest responded with a punch. The man came back up, and look who was there to punch him, it was Jermaine O'Neal. Yes, O'Neal was now involved with the fight. He was going to be suspended.
O'Neal had a frustrating season, with the points being good but the rebounds not helping. The Pacers, however, did knock out the Celtics 4-3 in the first round but then lost to the Pistons in the semifinals. The Pistons-Pacers brawl will forever be remembered. And Reggie Miller retired. What was J.O. and his team going to do. Can the Pacers succeed next year without him? The blue and gold were going to find out.
2005
During the 2005-06 season, the Pacers were not that bad without their missed clutch-shooter. But with the team they had right now, it was going to be good. But without Miller gone, things started to get shaky for Jermaine O'Neal, as injury problems started to emerge. O'Neal missed 31 games that year, but he still managed to average about 20 points and nine rebounds for the team, which was impressive despite the injuries.O'Neal was again an Eastern-Conference All-Star but had to be replaced by Gilbert Arenas.
The Pacers finished with a 41-41 record, but eventually lost to the New Jersey Nets in six games. The Pacers were a first-round exit, and this will be their last playoff appearance as well.
2006
O'Neal continued to have injury problems. He missed 44 games that year and a career-low as starter with about 19 points and nine rebounds averaged that year. The Pacers, however, did not make the playoffs which made it worse. It was one of the worst years for Indy and more bad years were continuing to emerge.
2007
This year was the actual career-low for O'Neal. He averaged about 14 points that year as the Pacers missed the playoffs again with a 36-46 record. O'Neal struggled badly and Indy was thinking about trading him now. They did. He and Nathan Jawai were traded to the Toronto Raptors for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston, and Roy Hibbert.
According to one source, O'Neal was very sad to leave the Pacers. He started to cry when rumors of the trade started to emerge, weeks before the trade was made official. It was a sad time in Pacer history and with O'Neal.
O'Neal went on with the Toronto Raptors and liked their chances that year. He was then traded to Miami Heat and is now currently a starting center for the Miami Heat. Although O'Neal is not a Pacer anymore, everyone will remember his contributions. Everyone will remember the player, the person, and the all-star.
But no fear, everyone will remember Jermaine O'Neal when he was with the Pacers during those years.
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