Those waiting for news on whether Jermaine O’Neal will have surgery on his injured knee will have to wait until Wednesday. According to Scott Souza, the ice storm hitting New England today is keeping him stuck in New York, where he was getting a second opinion.
The knee has kept O’Neal out for most of the season to date, but he’s not currently willing to see it knock him out for the rest of the year, drawing the line at his ability to play pain-free in the playoffs. If the doctors can guarantee his ability to return to the court to help the Celtics work their way through the East, then it’s a go. If not, the beleaguered big man will try his best to play through the pain.
If Jermaine does choose to have surgery, it might not make much of a difference to the Celtics. He’s already been absent for much of the season, and with Kevin Garnett returning to action in impressive fashion Monday against the Magic and Kendrick Perkins back to practicing, the team might not even be in need of much more length off the bench.