The Eastern Conference Finals required 6 games to determine the winner. After 25 years, the Indiana Pacers have confirmed their place in the NBA Finals. The rivalry with the Knicks is always mouth-watering, and even this series produced great moments. Interestingly, the man who led the Pacers to the finals in 2000 was doing the commentary for this series. Sounds poetic, right? But it didn’t turn out that way for Reggie Miller after his recent comments.
Being a player who only played in Indianapolis throughout his 18-year tenure will have some bias for the team. Before game 6 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the TNT analyst wore all black and was in favor of his former team winning.“Dressed in all black. You know what time it is.” Throughout the series, fans on social media added clips about the TNT analyst’s bias towards the Pacers. However, one moment in game 6 is where they felt that line was unnecessarily crossed.
When Knicks superstar Karl-Anthony Towns went down holding his knee, Reggie Miller, who was calling the game for TNT, decided to stir the pot. “I think this is all for show.” The casual tone and disregard of the issue that KAT was suffering from in game 3 is what enraged the fans. Let’s not forget, the Big Bodega was listed as questionable in game 5 but still played 36 minutes, and helped his team by scoring 24 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
So, the casual comment from the ‘Knicks Killer’ did not sit well with the fan base. But his teammate came in support like old times. “They tripping ,” commented Jermaine O’Neal.
The 6x All-Star played with Miller for five seasons towards the end of his Hall of Fame career. Just like on the court, he was not going to turn his back on his veteran leader.
Jermaine O’Neal on Reggie Miller’s importance in his life
During game 4 of the series in Indy’s home, the legends linked up. In his IG post, Reggie Miller posted clips with his old Pacers teammates, and one familiar face stood out, Jermaine O’Neal. He even captioned it with, “Absolutely re-connecting with my former Brothas, dudes that I would run through a brick wall for…” For J.O., the relationship was more than just teammates.
“He is a winner in every aspect of the word. He could have easily vetted that trade. I remember having a conversation with him, and he say, ‘I’m a let you be whatever you wanna be, as long as you work for it.‘” The 46-year-old received the words of encouragement when he needed them the most. And who better than the franchise veteran. Sitting down with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the “All The Smoke” podcast, O’Neal gave a huge chunk of credit for his career’s success to Miller.
Before the trade to the Pacers, he was a prospect in Portland. O’Neal’s career quickly rose to new heights. Then came the All-Star, the All-NBA Third Team, and the Most Improved Player Award, all within a year. Mind you, this was all alongside the leadership of Miller. That’s why O’Neal will stand for his veteran teammate on and off the court.
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