Mar. 30, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Phoenix Suns center Jermaine O

Season Averages:

MIN: 18.7|FG%: 48.2|3P%: 0|FT%: 83.5|REB: 5.3|AST: 0.8|BLK: 1.4|STL: 0.3|PTS: 8.3 

Matt’s Comments:

Jermaine O’Neal was a pleasant surprise this season. The 16-year veteran came to the valley of the Suns this year having played in just 49 games over the previous two seasons. No one expect O’Neal to make much of a contribution but by the end of the 2012-2013 season, he was one of the biggest contributors on the Suns.

During the 2012-2013 season, O’Neal posted a PER(player efficiency rating) of 16.76, a mark he reached just one other time in the last six seasons; it was also the second highest mark on the Suns behind Goran Dragic(17.52). O’Neal’s 48% field-goal percentage this past season was also the fifth highest mark in his 16-year career; maybe it’s the water in Phoenix.

O’Neal was a constant force on the court and in the locker room as he, Luis Scola and Jared Dudley provided the majority of the experience and leadership. Unfortunately for Suns fans, O’Neal most likely will be somewhere else next season if he decides to keep playing.

Grade: A 

Eric’s Comments:

Coming to the Suns was supposed to revitalize Jermaine O’Neal’s career. The 34-year-old center had knee issues for the last couple years and playing in Arizona with the Suns miracle-working training staff (see Steve Nash, Grant Hill, and to a lesser extent Shaq), and his production was going to get him on a contender for the playoffs and maybe a championship before the sun set on his career. The valley of the sun was not that place. When I did an article a while ago looking at the Suns with advanced statistics, O’Neal had the best Player Efficiency Rating, and he was coming off the bench.

O’Neal was solid this season, and he rode with the Suns and it was a great experience (for fans at least), hopefully, he find his way to a contender for next year and get a ring, because Phoenix is mired deep, deep in the rebuilding process and won’t be out of it until after O’Neal probably retires.

Grade: A

Mar. 1, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns center Jermaine O

In the final seconds of last night’s game between the Phoenix Suns and the Houston Rockets, Jermaine O’Neal was whistled for goaltending at the buzzer on a James Harden three-pointer which ultimately gave Houston the win with a bow on top.

“It was off the rim, for sure,” O’Neal said. “He (Jones) is saying it was still in the cylinder when I did it. The problem is that they called goaltend and counted the basket before they did the review. So there’s not enough evidence to change the call. You should make sure that’s the call you should make, and it should be clarified before you say, `Basket counts.”

Bottom line, clearly O’Neal affected the shot, and it was indeed goaltending.

Here’s the thing, O’Neal is a veteran, a veteran who’s been in the league for a 16-years, a veteran who possesses relatively high  basketball-IQ. The buzzer had already sounded, he had no reason to touch the basketball, he knows better.

Some may call or think it’s a brain fart but there are reasons to believe it was intentional. O’Neal knows better. O’Neal didn’t need to touch that ball, it wasn’t going to go in, and all he had to do was box-out 6’1 point guard Patrick Beverely(Who was fighting O’Neal for the rebound), O’Neal didn’t need to jump with him; I doubt O’Neal would have problems boxing out the 6-foot guard.

Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweeted this yesterday after the game: “Jermaine O’Neal brain fart or Phoenix Suns tank job?”

Jared Dudley tweeted this after the game “Wow!! I never lost a game like that before in my life.. Just one of those seasons I guess..”

Maybe J.D is right and it’s just one of those New York Jet like seasons but the O’Neal goaltending play was certainly sketchy. The Suns are in competition with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third worst overall record in the NBA which essentially means the third best chance to win the lottery in May.

“They called three or four calls late in the game that helped determine the outcome of the game,” O’Neal said.

Had the Suns beat the Rockets last night, there would only be a 1/2 game separating the Suns and Cavaliers in the standings given that the Cleveland lost to the Pacers last night.

The Suns are 1 1/2 games behind of the Cavaliers right now in the overall standings as the Suns are ahead of the Bobcats and Magic in terms of winning percentage. That means if the season ended tonight, the Suns would have the third best chance in the lottery. The Cavaliers have five games remaining on their season against the Pistons, Knicks, Sixers, Heat and the Bobcats to close out their season.

Was O’Neal’s goaltending intentional? Tough to say, but one can certainly make a case for it.