Updates
Thu, Feb 19th 2009, 10:24
JO makes Miami debut
The biggest transition?
Not the plays. In his first game with the Heat, Jermaine O’Neal didn’t appear confused once, nor did he have to ask a teammate where to go.
O’Neal is a cerebral player as it is, but it also didn’t hurt that the 30-year-old had an entire All-Star break to prepare, or that he watched the Heat’s last 10 to 12 games on TiVo once he knew getting traded to Miami was a strong possibility.
That part was rather simple for the Heat’s newest O’Neal.
The most uncomfortable part of his permanent move to Miami was playing with a bare forehead.
‘‘I’ve never not worn a headband,’‘ O’Neal said before his Heat unveiling. ``I do [feel naked]. And I sweat a lot, too.’‘
He shouldn’t sweat it. He certainly isn’t the first to experience accessory withdrawal thanks to Pat Riley’s inane rule that doesn’t allow his players to wear headbands. Brian Grant fought it gracefully. Lamar Odom did, too.
O’Neal will find he has much greater concerns, primarily figuring out just how high he can elevate the Heat in the Eastern Conference. It’s already a certainty the heady O’Neal has improved the team.
FRONTCOURT FORCE
That half-court offense that Shawn Marion called ‘‘boring’‘ now has versatility (on an aside, if Marion truly believes that scoring a lot of points and playing a fast-pace game is what basketball ‘‘is all about,’‘ as he said upon his introduction in Toronto, then he’s an ill fit for any team that has actual winning as its top priority).
The rim that was too often left as bare as O’Neal’s forehead now has legitimate protection (no offense to Joel Anthony, but O’Neal is fifth in the league in blocked shots despite playing less than 30 minutes a game).
And the Heat has a conventional, Wade-O’Neal, inside-outside, combination again that has been the trademark of a Riley-built team.
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