Updates
Sun, Dec 28th 2008, 13:37
O'Neal finally finding his rhythm
This is where it all began for a teenaged Jermaine O’Neal, the city where he cut his NBA teeth and where he hopes his renaissance continues.
Coming off his best game as a Raptor – a 36-point gem in a 107-101 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday – the veteran centre thinks his offence, the multi-faceted game that makes him so dangerous, will be present more often than not.
“I can score from so many different ways and pretty much in the last four or five games I’ve shown that. I can score from the elbow, score on the baseline, right shoulder, left shoulder, both hands and it’s really just coming down to rhythm,” said O’Neal, who has averaged nearly 28 points a game in his last three. “I just haven’t been able to get that rhythm.
“My success that I’ve had over the last couple of weeks has been based off my teammates. It’s good to get numbers, but it’s better to win and get everybody else involved.”
But there really don’t have to be many other Raptors involved when O’Neal’s got it going like he did in Sacramento, where he shot 15-for-19 from the field while grabbing nine rebounds. It’s nice that someone like Chris Bosh is on the court to provide some scoring backup if necessary but when someone’s going as well as O’Neal was, he’s going to get the ball.
“If we get a guy going, we’re going to keep riding a hot hand,” said coach Jay Triano. “We found a way to either (set cross-screens) and get him on the block or (set down-screens) and get him on the block. We just found ways to get him down in an isolation situation.
“He threw it out a couple of times, which kept everybody honest. We didn’t make any threes when he threw it out but it just keeps the defence honest and we’d go right back into him.”
It’s been a bit of an up-and-down season for O’Neal, who took longer than expected to get back to game speed early in the season and then suffered a setback with knee and ankle woes. He’s had a few duds since coming back – including a five-point game in Oklahoma City a week or so ago that ended prematurely because of a sore shoulder – but he has been dominant of late.
Comments
Wallpapers
Click on the below images to download your favorite Jermaine O’Neal Wallpapers.
