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Jermaine plans to come back. He'd most likely start with 15-20 minutes in the rotation, then increase later.

Are you guys looking forward to his return?

I think the only thing that the team needs to understand is that they shouldn't stand around.

How does this affect Dunleavy's recent performance?

Best case scenario, Jermaine brings an anchor for the next few games, as more of a post presence than a security blanket, and it frees Dunleavy and GRanger to not need to force as many shots.

I honestly feel like with O'Neal we are a good team. Especially since Granger and Dunleavy have emerged in his absence. He will anchor our defense so when guys burn Dunleavy they don't have an easy basket and will spread the floor on offense. I think if we can manage to get anything but the 8th and maybe 7th seed then we have a chance to advance a round in the playoffs. We'll see though. I'm just sick of the team winning just enough to keep us from a top 7 pick but not enough to make the playoffs, thats whats pissing me off.

We have no chance to get any higher than the eighth seed at best; everyone else is too far ahead of us with too few games left to play.

Given that, I think the playoffs are futile this year, and would rather see us get a slightly higher draft pick (as well as slightly better odds of getting a top three pick).

I'd just as soon not have JO come back at this point. What if he gets hurt again? Just bag this season and wait til next year.

mizzoupacers wrote:We have no chance to get any higher than the eighth seed at best; everyone else is too far ahead of us with too few games left to play.

Given that, I think the playoffs are futile this year, and would rather see us get a slightly higher draft pick (as well as slightly better odds of getting a top three pick).

I'd just as soon not have JO come back at this point. What if he gets hurt again? Just bag this season and wait til next year.

Yeah i just checked the standings, Sixers 34 W, pacers 27 W, I don't want the 8 seed.

mizzoupacers wrote:We have no chance to get any higher than the eighth seed at best; everyone else is too far ahead of us with too few games left to play.

Given that, I think the playoffs are futile this year, and would rather see us get a slightly higher draft pick (as well as slightly better odds of getting a top three pick).

I'd just as soon not have JO come back at this point. What if he gets hurt again? Just bag this season and wait til next year.

I agree...

I would much rather have a higher draft pick this year than make the playoffs as 8th seed.

However if JO comes back that he could potentially be showcased in case we want to trade him in the offseason/on draft night.

I like the idea of having him back.

I don't like it. There is a lot more negatives than positives that can come out of this. And even if JO does have a week or two of 20/10 performances I am not sure his trade value will increase that much due to his label of being "injury prone".

His trade value has already increased since Gasol moved to the Lakers, Bynum has begun emerging as a player, and O'Neal has headed to the Suns. Anyone who thinks that hasn't boosted JO's trade value doesn't understand the NBA.

I'm not saying his trade value is high by any means, just saying it isn't as low as everyone says it is. Honestly, we won't get fair value for JO. I really want to keep him and watch him play with an improved Granger and Dunleavy next year. JO when healthy is a 20 ppg man. Granger has become a 20 ppg man. IF all 3 can mesh, we got a good 3 headed monster. Its no Boston team, but a nice team non the less.

Man, it all boils down to tanking vs. not...again.

Well I think it's good if he can come back and play our last 10 games or so, if he plays well and doesn't miss games in between it will raise his value this summer, not by a lot unless he starts going for 30 and 10. I'd rather have a high draft pick, but I have a feeling we won't be higher than 10 or 11. If we did make the playoffs and JO gets in game shape starts playing well we can really show him off to a potential trade partner.

Ultimately, it's far better for the Pacers for JO to be back on the floor and be effective. Right now, he's of no value to us, either as a player or a trading asset. As long as that is the case, then he's basically just a huge black hole in our cap/tax situation. We already have one of those in Tinsley, and we really can't afford two.

I think it's worth the risk of hurting our draft position for two reasons: (1) I don't really think there's a huge amount of difference between 8 and 15 in this draft, and (2) it should give us at least a slight improvement in being able to move JO this summer.

Also, he's coming back to a team that's different than when he left. If he can fit effectively at both ends into this new team, then the Pacers can become a better team.

I think I'd rather just see him sit this season out and get his knee 100%. However, I can understand why the Pacers would want him to return. As Count said, he'd be pretty much immovable in the offseason without playing in months, and we also don't know how he really fits with the current roster. That being said, I think there's a good chance that one of the big prospects:
Bayless, Gordon, Mayo, Lopez, DeAndre Jordan, etc. could fall to us at the #9 spot.

I do think there is a big difference between 9 and 15 in this draft. We shall see though.

joew8302 wrote:I do think there is a big difference between 9 and 15 in this draft. We shall see though.

Agreed.

If a big time players falls...yes.

If not...no.

Do we want to make the playoffs or risk losing a chance at a big-time player?

I don't think JO is gonna be much help to us except in depth, if he comes back in the tonights game which he won't, he's only got 13 games to get in game shape. So unless the depth at the 4/5 is gonna matter that much I don't see our position changing much unless like last year a couple teams really go in the tank.

PacersRule07 wrote:If a big time players falls...yes.

If not...no.

Do we want to make the playoffs or risk losing a chance at a big-time player?

It depends on who you think is a big-time player. I don't see any in this draft besides Rose and possibly Beasley. Obviously, picking 8th would give us a much better chance at getting exactly the guy we want, but I remember Fred Jones and Scott Haskin being "exactly the guy we wanted", so...

count55 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



It depends on who you think is a big-time player. I don't see any in this draft besides Rose and possibly Beasley. Obviously, picking 8th would give us a much better chance at getting exactly the guy we want, but I remember Fred Jones and Scott Haskin being "exactly the guy we wanted", so...

Don't diss Fred Jones. He was a very good player for us. 10 ppg off the bench is always nice. He brought fans to the games and won a dunk contest for us. I personally wish we still had Fred Jones, he was a great role player for us.

uhh..when is he supose to come back?

i just signed him for fantasy..playoffs start next week and i really hope he plays next week!....