<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It would be easy for Jermaine O'Neal to quit caring. For him to start looking for his next franchise. For him to shut it down. For him to say, "Hey, I've had the season I promised I'd have, and I'm not going to risk my health playing out the string and trying to earn the eighth spot." But he still cares. Still believes it's important that he plays through injuries -- including one undisclosed ailment that he said he will discuss when the season's done -- and makes sure the Indiana Pacers maintain their playoff-appearance streak. Maybe O'Neal hasn't been the consummate franchise player over the years. How many consummate franchise players are there, anyway? How many Tim Duncans and Dwyane Wades (two guys who've had a whole lot of help, by the way)? But in these last few months, some of the darkest competitive months in the recent history of the Pacers, O'Neal has been everything you'd want from a franchise player. He's played. He's played hard, especially on defense, where he's improved his shot-blocking and become adept at taking charges. And he's powered through an assortment of injuries that might have shut him down in previous years.</div> Source
