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I was on PD when I got frusterated & posted this "thought" there, but I want to get the opinions of those whom I know the best - right here!!!
Now, most over there did not seem to want to "look back", but yet after a game like tonight against CHA, where we get killed inside & missed JO down the streatch because he was on "limited minutes", they all wanted to bitch on why JO was not pushed & played more. They can't have it both ways. I can't help but to look back at the real reason he was not there.....
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Who let JO come back & start this year < 100%? Who's to Blame?

What I'm getting at is this:
Look how we are playing down the streatch w/ a Healthy JO!!! Think where we could be had he been healthy for a much longer streatch. We had to sit JO 33 straight games, & played him far less then 100% for lord know how many more, all because he was not ready to come back when he did. My question is "WHY?", & "Who's accountable for that call?"
What if we had taken this percautious approach back in training camp? JO may have missed most/all of camp, maybe even a week or two to start the year, but he would have had the time to heal. Had we restricted him to 20 min/gm to start after that, he would have had time to rehab, & learn the system. We may have struggled early, but we would have had a healthy JO for sooo much longer then we did. Where would we be now had we done that then?
-Did JO lie/push himself too fast - against the advise of the trainers/doctors?
-Did Bird/Walsh push JO back to raise his trade value?
-Did Jim O'Brien push LB/DW, & JO back too early to learn the new system?
-Did ord trainers/JO's doc's give poor advise?

Just think: If we had won just 5 more games because we had JO in for more of the year, we would be tied w/ Philly for a 6 seed; 6 games & we're tied w/ Wash for 5; & 8 games & we are tied w/ Cle for 4 seed - & Home Court!

Where's the accountability? Why did we not give him the time he needed? Why is nobody asking this question?
Watching us play like we are now, I can't help but to wonder..... "What If?"

PS:
I am not saying that I think we are all that good, but we were never given a real chance to see how god we could have been. I am also not saying that having a lottery pick isn't better in the long run for our future, but w/ the mock drafts I see, I think the riskiest picks may be in the 10-15/17 range. I see value/bargins after 15/17, & I see reaches in 10-15/17.
I'm also not saying JO is playing at 100%, not is he 100% healthy, but he is (by all accounts) pain-free - something he was not at the start of the year. You also can't just look at his stats, you must look at his impact. Teams must account for him, on "O" & "D". He opens up the court, adds a shot-blocking defender, & his 20 min/gm gives depth & rest to the other players. Add all 3 of those factors together, & while they don't show on a stat sheet, they affect the win/loss column!

if he is held out like he should have been when he wasnt 100% everyone here would spend all day complaining that he is soft and a wimp and is overpaid. He cant win either way

Very good question PG.


Looking back, I think all accounts from JO and the team were that he was healthy to start the year. I don't know what happened or if one or both parties were lying. However, you're right. If we're a team that is looking to win (which Donnie, Larry, Obie, and the Simons said at the beginning of the year and in the offseason), we seriously mishandled JO. It would've been much better to sit him the first 30 games, give him that much time to heal up his knee, and then slowly work him back at 20 minutes a night, and see where we could go from there. The theory we tried didn't work.

I think everybody thought he was ready, and it was more likely a case of wanting something so badly that they all looked passed the signals and rushed him back. That's assuming that the 30 extra games at the start of the season would've made a difference.

While I think JO's done fine since coming back, he's still a long way from proving that he's going to be a 70+ game player.

It's just as likely that no amount of rest would've prevented the issues that arose this year.

Well, in hindsight, I think we should've sat JO for the beginning of the season. We got career years from 3D (Danny, Dunleavy, Diener), Troy, and had some flashes of good bball from Quisy, Rush, Shawne, and Hulk. Tinsley was playing quite well until his latest march to the bench.

I said all year that in Obie's Offense, JO would have to be more Camby than Shaq, and we all saw how well the team did when JO wasn't the No. 1 option in the last 10. Yeah, he was coming off the bench, but he still made contributions while D&D ran the team.

I don't want JO to go, and b/c of his bad knees and contract, he may still be a Pacer in November. I think that he can still be a significant contributor to the Pacers, but in a Camby role, focusing on defense, rebounding, assists, and spot scoring. Basically, being Jeff Foster who can block shots and post up every now and then. If JO could humble himself a bit, he could still be dominant in that role, and like Camby (who also has a history of the injury bug and had to change his role for longevity in the L), could become a perennial DPOY candidate and possibly make another all-star team as a C in the East.

Larry made it clear that Danny, Mike, and Shawne are the future, and under Obie, I agree that they should be the top opts. Troy finally found his niche and reverted to his double-double self later in the season. If we retain Flip or select Augustin or Chalmers out of the draft, we'll be stable at the point w/ Diener there to help.

Our offense is fine and very explosive, we just need defense and rebounding, two things I think JO can still bring. We mismanaged him this season, and he may be gone this summer, but he has a chance to still be a name in this league. Not as a 20-10-3 guy, but more likely a 12-12-4 guy; And I'd much rather see him fulfill that as a Pacer than anywhere else.