A lot of good J.O. quotes in this one
http://www.boston.com/sports/article...r_scuffle?pg=2
O'Neal fined, dandy after scuffle
Pacer has to pay, but he will play
By Michael Vega, Globe Staff | April 30, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS -- Contrary to popular belief in Boston, Jermaine O'Neal did not spend yesterday's practice session at Conseco Fieldhouse polishing his brass knuckles. NBA officials yesterday fined O'Neal $10,000 and suspended Antoine Walker for Game 4 tonight after they engaged in a fourth-quarter shoving match that resulted in matching technical fouls, and Walker's ejection from Indiana's 99-76 rout of the Celtics Thursday night.
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Instead, O'Neal, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds in Game 3, polished his perimeter game and his reputation, tarnished not only by Thursday night's tiff with Walker, but also by the Nov. 19 incident in Detroit, in which O'Neal was one of five Pacers suspended by the league -- Ron Artest for the season -- for their involvement in a brawl with several Pistons fans.
Before he even took the court for Game 1 of this series, O'Neal appeared in court April 23 in Rochester Hills, Mich., for a pre-trial hearing as result of the fans incident. (The trial date is Aug. 1.) Tonight, when he returns to the court at Conseco, his wallet will be lighter, but the Celtics will be worse off. They'll be without Walker, who averaged 15.3 points in the first three games.
"It takes away one of their better players," said O'Neal, when asked about the impact of Walker's suspension. "He's a guy who presents a lot of problems for big guys. He keeps guys on the perimeter. He's able to put the ball on the floor. He can post up. He's one of those guys who can really do it all.
"If he's not there, it takes away one of the weapons from their offense."
It also took away a veteran coach Doc Rivers had hoped to lean on to help the Celtics even the series before it returns to the FleetCenter for Game 5 Tuesday night.
"They do rely a lot on their younger players," said O'Neal, who'll likely face Al Jefferson, Walker's likely replacement in the starting lineup. "When they sub, they're bringing in a lot of first-year players. Sometimes it's a little bit tougher at this particular stage of the season. The playoffs is something you can't really learn in the regular season. The intensity is much, much higher. Every possession counts and those guys are having to learn on the run."
With or without Walker, O'Neal expects the Celtics to ratchet up the intensity level and the physical nature of this series.
"It is playoff basketball," O'Neal said. "When I got home [Thursday night], I looked at the game -- looked at it twice -- and some of the fouls did come after the whistle and some of the fouls I thought were excessive. But I'm not going to take it personal. I don't think anybody out there is trying to really kill anybody, but I actually think they're trying to do things players do in the playoffs. Continued...
I can't fault any of those guys, I can't fault the coaching staff, or any of the guys taking shots at me," O'Neal added. "I would probably do it, too, if one of their main guys was hurt. It's just the nature of the game. I'm not going to be a guy who's going to sit here and ***** about it. I feel good today. That's all that matters. I feel good today and I'm able to shoot.
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"I was a little bit sore, but I'm just preparing myself for [tonight]."
Judging from the manner in which he hit shot after shot from almost every conceivable spot on the practice court at Conseco Fieldhouse, it appeared O'Neal was preparing to subject the Celtics to a barrage of long- and mid-range jumpers.
"You know what?" O'Neal said, a sly smile creasing his face. "I'm starting to feel real comfortable. I knew at some point I was going to start to feel comfortable. Even the first couple games [of this series] when I was shooting before the game, I was making shots but I didn't feel comfortable with my jump shot.
"Now I'm starting to feel real good about my ability to get to the basket, post up, and also those stick-and-pop jump shots."
After being out 22 games with a sprained right shoulder, O'Neal said, "It was 22 missed games with really doing nothing. I'm starting to get my cardio to the point where I'm comfortable and competing at a high level and my moves and my shot just starts to fall for me. Right now, I feel like I have a chance to be effective on both ends of the floor and not just defensively."
So does he feel comfortable enough to make Boston's big men chase him around the perimeter?
"Nah, nah," O'Neal said with a laugh. "I'm not comfortable with that. I don't think I've ever been comfortable with that in my career. But making those guys have to play me inside and out is what I really want to do. I think it makes their guys uncomfortable when I do that."
With Walker relegated to a spectator in Game 4, do the Pacers smell the blood in the water?
"When you lose a guy, it makes a team that much better," said O'Neal, whose team should know about such matters after the Pacers had players miss 435 games because of league-imposed suspensions, injuries, and illness. "Guys know that they have to come in and play at such a high level because they are missing that piece, so we've dealt with that the entire year, missing one or two of our main guys all year.
"So it makes those guys that much more dangerous. Obviously, Paul Pierce is going to have the ball a lot and we all know what he can do. We can't take it as, 'If Antoine's suspended, then we got an easy win.' It's not going to be that easy.
"Our thought process doesn't change, with him or without him."
© Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.
http://www.boston.com/sports/article...r_scuffle?pg=2
O'Neal fined, dandy after scuffle
Pacer has to pay, but he will play
By Michael Vega, Globe Staff | April 30, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS -- Contrary to popular belief in Boston, Jermaine O'Neal did not spend yesterday's practice session at Conseco Fieldhouse polishing his brass knuckles. NBA officials yesterday fined O'Neal $10,000 and suspended Antoine Walker for Game 4 tonight after they engaged in a fourth-quarter shoving match that resulted in matching technical fouls, and Walker's ejection from Indiana's 99-76 rout of the Celtics Thursday night.
ADVERTISEMENT
Instead, O'Neal, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds in Game 3, polished his perimeter game and his reputation, tarnished not only by Thursday night's tiff with Walker, but also by the Nov. 19 incident in Detroit, in which O'Neal was one of five Pacers suspended by the league -- Ron Artest for the season -- for their involvement in a brawl with several Pistons fans.
Before he even took the court for Game 1 of this series, O'Neal appeared in court April 23 in Rochester Hills, Mich., for a pre-trial hearing as result of the fans incident. (The trial date is Aug. 1.) Tonight, when he returns to the court at Conseco, his wallet will be lighter, but the Celtics will be worse off. They'll be without Walker, who averaged 15.3 points in the first three games.
"It takes away one of their better players," said O'Neal, when asked about the impact of Walker's suspension. "He's a guy who presents a lot of problems for big guys. He keeps guys on the perimeter. He's able to put the ball on the floor. He can post up. He's one of those guys who can really do it all.
"If he's not there, it takes away one of the weapons from their offense."
It also took away a veteran coach Doc Rivers had hoped to lean on to help the Celtics even the series before it returns to the FleetCenter for Game 5 Tuesday night.
"They do rely a lot on their younger players," said O'Neal, who'll likely face Al Jefferson, Walker's likely replacement in the starting lineup. "When they sub, they're bringing in a lot of first-year players. Sometimes it's a little bit tougher at this particular stage of the season. The playoffs is something you can't really learn in the regular season. The intensity is much, much higher. Every possession counts and those guys are having to learn on the run."
With or without Walker, O'Neal expects the Celtics to ratchet up the intensity level and the physical nature of this series.
"It is playoff basketball," O'Neal said. "When I got home [Thursday night], I looked at the game -- looked at it twice -- and some of the fouls did come after the whistle and some of the fouls I thought were excessive. But I'm not going to take it personal. I don't think anybody out there is trying to really kill anybody, but I actually think they're trying to do things players do in the playoffs. Continued...
I can't fault any of those guys, I can't fault the coaching staff, or any of the guys taking shots at me," O'Neal added. "I would probably do it, too, if one of their main guys was hurt. It's just the nature of the game. I'm not going to be a guy who's going to sit here and ***** about it. I feel good today. That's all that matters. I feel good today and I'm able to shoot.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I was a little bit sore, but I'm just preparing myself for [tonight]."
Judging from the manner in which he hit shot after shot from almost every conceivable spot on the practice court at Conseco Fieldhouse, it appeared O'Neal was preparing to subject the Celtics to a barrage of long- and mid-range jumpers.
"You know what?" O'Neal said, a sly smile creasing his face. "I'm starting to feel real comfortable. I knew at some point I was going to start to feel comfortable. Even the first couple games [of this series] when I was shooting before the game, I was making shots but I didn't feel comfortable with my jump shot.
"Now I'm starting to feel real good about my ability to get to the basket, post up, and also those stick-and-pop jump shots."
After being out 22 games with a sprained right shoulder, O'Neal said, "It was 22 missed games with really doing nothing. I'm starting to get my cardio to the point where I'm comfortable and competing at a high level and my moves and my shot just starts to fall for me. Right now, I feel like I have a chance to be effective on both ends of the floor and not just defensively."
So does he feel comfortable enough to make Boston's big men chase him around the perimeter?
"Nah, nah," O'Neal said with a laugh. "I'm not comfortable with that. I don't think I've ever been comfortable with that in my career. But making those guys have to play me inside and out is what I really want to do. I think it makes their guys uncomfortable when I do that."
With Walker relegated to a spectator in Game 4, do the Pacers smell the blood in the water?
"When you lose a guy, it makes a team that much better," said O'Neal, whose team should know about such matters after the Pacers had players miss 435 games because of league-imposed suspensions, injuries, and illness. "Guys know that they have to come in and play at such a high level because they are missing that piece, so we've dealt with that the entire year, missing one or two of our main guys all year.
"So it makes those guys that much more dangerous. Obviously, Paul Pierce is going to have the ball a lot and we all know what he can do. We can't take it as, 'If Antoine's suspended, then we got an easy win.' It's not going to be that easy.
"Our thought process doesn't change, with him or without him."
© Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.
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