wizenheimer
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It was a pretty small chunk of that season; Grant missed 9 games between March 6th and 26th. Even during that stretch, JO got over 20 minutes just 3 times. The game before Grant's return , O'Neal played 31 minutes (his only 30 minute game that season), putting up 12/10 with 5 blocks. After that standout performance, he was relegated to 15 mpg the rest of the season. He was never given anything close to "starter's minutes".
There was only one stretch as a Blazer where he got 20+mpg for more than 3 consecutive games--in February of his second season. He averaged 26 mpg over a 6-game stretch, and averaged 13/9 with 1.5 blocks on 65% shooting. He was rewarded for that strong stretch of play with 7.7 mpg over the next month.
Looking objectively, it's very difficult to argue that O'Neal was given much opportunity to be successful on the court in Portland.
good summary. People trying to argue that O'Neal had ample opportunity in Portland are revising reality. For whatever reason, Dunleavy never trusted O'Neal with a consistent role. Indiana did and he became a 6-time all-star there winning MIP and was named to all-NBA teams 3 times
I don't believe any Blazer C has been an all-star since Duckworth (unless you count Rasheed and Aldridge as C's)
all that is not to say that the Sharpe or Scoot situations mirror O'Neal's. Just that young guys don't really develop sitting on the bench