Jermaine O =

[damekmo@teleport.com]

....Stiff! OK...maybe "stiff" is a little hard, but I'd especially like to
know what my brothers and sisters from Portland think about O'Neal. Now, I
know he's young and yes, there's always hope, but since he's been here I've
seen zero development in his offensive game. Does he have an offensive
game? Anything resembling one? Has anyone from Portland ever seen him do
anything but dunk? I fully expected to see more of O'Neal this year as it
was evident from day 1 that Grant wasn't half the player he was last year.
He was "apparently" playing hurt...but that's for another discussion. In
any case, I fully expected to see more of O'Neal, and I think we did...but
what we saw from him was pretty mediocre. Now perhaps I'm just blinded by
the improvement in Wallace's game, expecting too much from Jermaine, but I
relly don't see that much to O'Neal's game. I think he's a backup,
period....end of story. And a short minute backup at that. His offensive
game isn't just non-existent, I think he actually hurts the team at the
offensive end when he's out there. Imagine PJ Brown without that little
very mid-range jumper from the side...PJ Brown without the least idea of
what to do when he gets the ball, unable to put it on the floor...PJ Brown
without the ability to every now and then hit the jumper from the
free-throw line. That's Jermaine O'Neal and I'm not sure he's as good a
defender as Brown, that is, he's a little more foul prone. Now, if you're
looking for a one dimensional backup off the bench I guess that would be
OK, but isn't that pick worth more than that? The Celtics have two assets,
Pierce and the pick. Do you waste one of the assets on Jermaine O'Neal? I
also understand the argument that any pick is a crap shoot. The problem, I
think, is that we've seen Jermaine's game, and it ain't that good. Now,
don't get me wrong, for all his problems, Battie and Fortson would never
see the floor if O'Neal was on the team. He's light-years more valuable
than Battie now, even without an offensive game...and unlike Fortson, he
can actually move a little. But if the team's not going to use that pick to
sweeten up a deal for a real player, I'd rather they take a chance on
someone like Moiso if he falls to 11, or Q. Richardson.

One more thing...I'd run from Fizer as fast as possible. Does anybody else
see Danny Fortson "at best" in that young man?

This is at least more interesting than watching the Pacers roll over and
die. Are the Lakers even playing that hard?



Paul M.