ducks
03-11-2005, 01:30 PM
Reality is starting to set in for the Indiana Pacers: All-Star forward Jermaine O'Neal probably will be out longer than the five games he is required to miss for being placed on the injured list.
How much longer? Nobody knows.
"There's no official word yet, but I'm starting to be afraid this is more serious than we hoped," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Thursday.
O'Neal has spent most of the week in Los Angeles, visiting doctors and getting extra opinions on his right shoulder. Carlisle doesn't know whether O'Neal will need surgery. If he does, O'Neal's already shortened season likely would be over.
O'Neal sprained his shoulder while attempting a dunk late in the first half of the March 3 game at Denver. The Pacers put him on the injured list the next day, meaning the earliest he could return is Wednesday against Utah.
O'Neal quit wearing a sling just days after the injury but favored the shoulder while walking around Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The Pacers, who are contending for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, are 2-1 since O'Neal's injury.
The Pacers have been able to get by defensively with the help of Dale Davis, who was signed the day O'Neal went on the injured list.
Davis has started all three games since joining the team.
"Had we not been able to get Dale back on the team, we probably wouldn't have been able to win two of these last three games," Carlisle said. "He's been that important to us."
http://www.indystar.com/articles/6/228473-1986-P.html
How much longer? Nobody knows.
"There's no official word yet, but I'm starting to be afraid this is more serious than we hoped," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Thursday.
O'Neal has spent most of the week in Los Angeles, visiting doctors and getting extra opinions on his right shoulder. Carlisle doesn't know whether O'Neal will need surgery. If he does, O'Neal's already shortened season likely would be over.
O'Neal sprained his shoulder while attempting a dunk late in the first half of the March 3 game at Denver. The Pacers put him on the injured list the next day, meaning the earliest he could return is Wednesday against Utah.
O'Neal quit wearing a sling just days after the injury but favored the shoulder while walking around Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The Pacers, who are contending for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, are 2-1 since O'Neal's injury.
The Pacers have been able to get by defensively with the help of Dale Davis, who was signed the day O'Neal went on the injured list.
Davis has started all three games since joining the team.
"Had we not been able to get Dale back on the team, we probably wouldn't have been able to win two of these last three games," Carlisle said. "He's been that important to us."
http://www.indystar.com/articles/6/228473-1986-P.html