I mean the facts are right there. We were up by 9 points before he went down awkardly on his knee, and immediately after he went to the locker room the Nets went on a 9-1 run to bring it within a possession. More importantly, if you were watching the game you just saw the difference his absence made. Our perimeter D was poor throughout the game. Vince and Devin Harris were able to blow by their defenders the entire time. But they did barely anything in the first 3 quarters because the Bosh-JO wall was just too imposing down low. Once he left, you saw both players finishing drives and generally shredding apart our defense. This isn't a new trend either. JO fouled out in the Milwaukee game and right after his departure, the Bucks made a run and almost stole the game. For some stupid reason, Smitch kept JO out for most of the last half of the Orlando game and the Magic were able to overcome a similar deficit and beat us. O'Neal's been on-and-off offensively, but there's no denying his impact on our defense. So yea, that's my long-winded way of saying I'm worried if he's not on the floor for a significant period of time.
Hump played pretty good in JO's absence but I think he could have been the difference maker for the Raps last night. Would the last play of the game had happened if JO had been standing in the paint?
