플옵 2라운드에서 디트로이트에 패하고 레지 밀러가 은퇴를 발표한 인디애나.
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이제 그들은 레지 밀러 없이 가야 합니다. 밀러가 18년을 줄곧 이 팀에만 있었기 때문에 그의 빈자리를 채우기는 쉽지 않겠지만요.
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밀러는 이제 이 팀의 리더는 저메인 오닐이 될 것이다라고 말했습니다.
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릭 칼라일 감독은 디트로이트와의 시리즈가 끝난 뒤, 밀러와 론 아테스트를 만나 다음 시즌을 어떻게 준비할 것인가에 대해 이야기를 나누었다고 합니다.
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올 시즌 인디애나는 32가지의 다른 스타팅 라인업을 짜야했던 어려운 시즌이었습니다. 그 와중에도 플옵 2라운드까지 온 게 참 용하다고 볼 수 있겠죠. 데일 데이비스는 올 시즌 후 FA가 됩니다. 그러나 릭 칼라일 감독은 그가 인디애나에 남아 주었으면 좋겠다는 뜻을 밝혔습니다. 그가 있다면 젊은 선수들이 많은 인디애나에 정신적 지주가 되어 줄 수 있을 테니까요.
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저메인 오닐은 올 시즌 레지 밀러에게 챔피언 반지를 안겨주지 못한 게 가장 후회된다고 말했습니다. 저메인 오닐도 올 시즌이 참 힘든 시즌이었죠. 관중 난동으로 인한 징계와 어깨 부상과 그에 따른 후유증으로 시즌 내내 고생했었습니다. 다음 시즌 더욱 성숙된 모습을 보여줄 수 있기를 바랍니다.
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Pacers prepare for life without Reggie
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By STEVE HERMAN, AP Sports Writer
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May 20, 2005
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Reggie Miller had been preparing for the moment for several years, handing the team leadership over to younger, more athletic players and getting the Indiana Pacers ready to move on without him.
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When Miller's NBA career ended with a playoff loss to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night, the transition was complete.
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``The mantle goes to Jermaine (O'Neal) now,'' Miller said. ``It's his team. But there's a lot of great, young talent here.
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``Truthfully, this has been the most trying season and the most challenging. The most rewarding part is that we brought this team, franchise and city together,'' he said.
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Coach Rick Carlisle had a short meeting Friday with the team -- including Miller and suspended forward Ron Artest -- and told them to expect changes next season beyond the loss of Miller, the franchise's career scoring leader with 25,279 points.
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``We're not going to be standing pat,'' Carlisle said. ``There are a lot of possibilities how that can be done. ... It could go a lot of different ways. Larry (Bird) and Donnie (Walsh) will be the decision-makers, but I wouldn't rule out anything.''
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Stephen Jackson likely will move to Miller's spot at shooting guard, with Artest returning to small forward. Dale Davis, who re-signed with the Pacers after O'Neal was injured early in March, started the final 25 regular-season games and all 13 playoff games at center. He's a free agent, but Carlisle called him a key to Indiana's late success and said the Pacers would try to keep him.
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A healthy Jamaal Tinsley, who averaged more than 19 points in the 27 games at point guard before he bruised his foot, also could strengthen the Pacers.
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``I gave the guys the message there's still a lot of work to be done,'' Carlisle said. ``Any success we did have this season was great, but we're in it to win a championship.''
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Miller considered retiring last year, after the Pacers won an NBA-best 61 games in the regular season but lost to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals. He had one year left on his contract, however, and decided to come back for a final try for the championship.
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He had every reason for optimism.
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The Pacers bolstered their roster by trading to get Jackson from Atlanta. And with O'Neal, Artest and Tinsley, Miller figured the Pacers had a good chance to challenge for the title.
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Everything changed that night in Detroit last November, however, when a fan hurled a cup of beer that landed on Artest, triggering a wild free-for-all in the stands. The Pacers won that game, but Artest was suspended for the rest of the season, Jackson was suspended for 30 games and O'Neal was suspended for 25. His suspension was later reduced to 15 games.
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Injuries also began piling up. Tinsley missed half the season with a variety of ailments, and O'Neal was out 22 games late in the regular season with a sore shoulder -- which still bothered him in the playoffs.
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Indiana used 32 different starting lineups throughout the season and playoffs, and the projected starting five at the beginning of the year did not play a single minute together because of the suspensions and injuries.
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``It's tough to lose a playoff series, but somehow our guys and our fans have to realize they've been a part of one of the unlikeliest stories in the history of pro sports,'' Carlisle said. ``I'm really just proud that our guys never flinched. Everybody decided they wouldn't give in to lower expectations after the unfortunate incident.''
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The Pacers were 7-2 after the brawl in Detroit. They lost the next game, at Orlando, but won three straight after that as the remaining players rallied together.
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Then the reality of their situation set in.
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Playing short-handed, the fatigued Pacers lost seven straight games and stood 12-12 before O'Neal returned in December. Jackson came off suspension in late January, and the Pacers finished 44-38 for the sixth playoff seed in the East. They beat Boston in seven games in the first round and led Detroit 2-1 before losing their final three games.
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Carlisle, who coached Detroit for two years, said he held no animosity toward the Pistons or their fans because of ``one fool with a beer cup.''
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``This whole thing has been about restoring the integrity of the relationship of these two franchises and our fans and the league. They're both great teams,'' Carlisle said.
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O'Neal said his biggest regret was not winning a championship for Miller.
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``Everybody knows how I feel about Reggie,'' O'Neal said. ``So what I achieve from this point on, I dedicate to Reggie.''
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Updated on Friday, May 20, 2005 5:19 pm EDT
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첫댓글 사상 최악의 난투극... 정말 지금와서 생각해보면 너무너무 아쉽네요.... 아아.... Reggie Miller....
그 난투극때 진짜 완전 절망감들어서........밥이 안넘어갔다는 ㅠ.ㅠ
이제 슈가는 누가보죠?
잭슨이 보지 않을까요? -ㅁ - 스포에 아테 슈가에 잭슨
잭슨이 보겟죠...
정말... 인디애나의 저력을 다시한번 볼 수 있었습니다.. 정규시즌 그 어려움을 딛고 2라운드까지 진출하고 말이죠.. 정말 대단합니다.. 그나저나.. 스테판 잭슨.. 다음 시즌에는.. 야투율 좀 오르겠죠??;;
론 아테스트는 심하게 반성해야할겁니다..그들이 없었기에 레지옹이 더욱 빛났는지도 모르겠습니다만, 마지막 해에 반지를 향한 여정에 찬물을 끼얹었다는것만으로도... 인디팬 여러분들에게 상당히 미움을 받을듯... 아닌가요? ㅡ.,ㅡ
그렇지 그렇고말고
32가지의 다른 스타팅라인업.- _-;;저렇게 생각하니..대단하군요..ㅎ
난투극만 없었으면 우승할수도 있었을텐데 ㅜㅜ 작년에도 오닐의 부상땜에 진거구..
쩝. 안타깝네요. 그래도 저 힘든 상황을 가지고 플옵 2라운드까지 올랐다는건 정말 대단한 일입니다.
조나단 벤더를 슬슬 어떻게 해봐야 할 것 같은데...