Waiting on the Pacers vs. Hornets

What did I say about fraying at the edges? Well, Jermaine O'Neal has torn a little fabric with a frustrated rant to the media after the Pacers stumbled down the stretch to lose to the Mavs.

"If I can't take this team to another level, I truthfully believe we should go our separate ways at the end of the season," said O'Neal, who added his first choice is to remain with the Pacers. "I'm saying in general, the bottom line is you play to win. If we don't have a system set to win a championship, if we don't have the crew to win a championship, then what are we doing?
"I'm getting to the point, I'm in my 11th year, I don't want to play 82 games and then exit to watch somebody else pop champagne. . . . I'm tired of that. I want to compete for a championship. If we can't do it, that's a whole (different) story."

I tend to agree and with the schedule ahead this is the time to prove what this current team can accomplish. If they continue the three steps forward, two steps back routine I'm all aboard with JO's recommendation. Start fresh with a new coach and a new approach with the roster. I really hate to lose JO but he will never fetch more in return than he will right now.

The Pacers take on the Hornets in Oklahoma City Saturday night and since the Pacers tend to take a Constanza approach to their effort and often give the opposite of what you expect, this game could be trouble. Bruno is right on point with his preview. The Hornets don't have Chris Paul, Peja Stojakovich or David West available for the game. Uh-oh. Hopefully the Pacers left their shooting woes in Dallas otherwise it really won't matter who suits up for the Hornets.

It does get tiring hearing the negative verbal bombs from JO. I mean aside from undermining the front office and coaching staff it just drags down the whole mood of the team. Maybe it will spur the team to play with a sense of urgency that it often times lacks. It's either that or a complete implosion. Fabulous.