It seemed like just yesterday that Jermaine O'Neal was a perennial All-Star, appearing in national commercials and challenging for league MVP honors.

Three-plus years, even more injuries and numerous trade rumors later, O'Neal's stock, status and numbers have plummeted to levels not seen since he rode the bench in Portland.

O'Neal has missed 73 games the past three-plus seasons due to injuries. His latest setback is to his left knee, which required offseason surgery and has limited him to 10 games this season.

"You're always going to be open to criticism in professional sports," said O'Neal, who is averaging 13.2 points -- 11 fewer than in 2004-05. "I know people are saying I'm not the same player I used to be. I accept it because it is what it is. I've been hurt the last few years. I believe once I get over the hump, and I believe I'm going to get over it, I'm going to be the player I was before."

When O'Neal gets healthy is anybody's guess. He might play tonight at Seattle.

The Pacers are 5-1 without him this season, leading many to wonder if they would be better off without him. (They are 84-81 with him in the past three-plus seasons, 44-44 without.) Several scouts who have attended recent games suggested they are better without him because his style doesn't mesh with Coach Jim O'Brien's up-tempo offense.

Indiana Pacers shooting guard Mike Dunleavy says the numbers don't lie.

Dunleavy, who is having the best season of his six-year career, said the Pacers are a better team when he has a significant role in the offense.

Dunleavy went into Wednesday's game at Portland averaging 22.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists and shooting 53 percent in victories this season. He's only averaging 11.0 points and shooting 40 percent in losses.

"When I get in the flow offensively, it's pretty clear we're a good team," Dunleavy said. "When I don't, we struggle. Why that happens, I don't know. My approach is the same every night. I think it's pretty clear we're a good team when I can get my hands on the ball."

Dunleavy, who scored a season-high 30 points in a victory over Denver on Tuesday, is at his best when the Pacers push the tempo and there is constant ball movement. He has a hard time finding a rhythm when the Pacers stand around on the perimeter as somebody attempts to go one-on-one with the ball.

Jermaine O'Neal is expected to be back in the lineup when the Indiana Pacers open their four-game Western trip Tuesday in Denver.

O'Neal has missed the past three games and four overall with knee and calf injuries. An MRI taken Saturday revealed a slight tear in his calf, but the knee was "stable," according to Coach Jim O'Brien.

The Pacers turned in impressive victories over New Orleans and Dallas without O'Neal and nearly defeated the Cavaliers on Sunday.

Indiana Pacers' forward Jermaine O'Neal missed his third straight game with swelling in his left knee and lower leg Sunday in Indiana's 111-106 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The timetable for the six-time All-Star's return is uncertain. He is listed as day-to-day.

The Dallas Mavericks filed an official protest with NBA officials Saturday about the team's 111-107 loss to the Pacers on Friday night.

At issue was a 3-pointer by Troy Murphy that came early in the second quarter. Owner Mark Cuban said the referees were alerted to the fact that Murphy was inside the arc.

"[The] official scorer said he notified the crew, and no action was taken," Cuban said. "We are protesting that a correctible error was not corrected."

The lead referee Friday was Bennett Salvatore, who has a history of controversy with the Mavericks. He also made one of the most curious calls of the night on a fast break by Devin Harris, on which a non-shooting foul was called. That play was not included in the Mavericks' protest, nor were many others.

"We didn't protest any other calls, but we certainly questioned quite a few that went for us and against us," Cuban said.

Indiana Pacers' Coach Jim O'Brien said he anticipates starting forward Jermaine O'Neal will be back in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Conseco Fieldhouse.

But a couple of things have to happen before O'Neal, who missed his second straight game with swelling in his left knee, returns. He has to be medically cleared and be ready to play at least at a 90 percent level. The Pacers will practice today.

"He has to be ready to practice," O'Brien said. "It's difficult to just play games and not practice. Jermaine knows how important he is to our team on the practice floor and also in games. He also knows why having this swelling in this leg makes it hard to practice; you almost can't. If you're not practicing, you're not really playing to your capabilities."

O'Neal, who has missed three games this season, said he didn't have an MRI on Friday because the swelling in his knee has subsided. He got ice therapy treatment during Friday's game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Indiana Pacers' forward Jermaine O'Neal will sit out Friday's game against the Dallas Mavericks with swelling in his left knee and lower leg.

The six-time All-Star missed Wednesday's 105-93 victory in New Orleans. The timetable for his return is uncertain.

"If it takes shutting him down a couple days to get him right, we'll do that," Coach Jim O'Brien told Pacers.com after practice Thursday.

It will be the 85th regular-season game O'Neal has missed in just over three seasons.

With the injured Jermaine O'Neal on the bench, Troy Murphy scored 23 points to lead the Pacers to a 105-93 win over New Orleans on Wednesday night.

O'Neal missed the game after tweaking his left knee in Tuesday's loss to the Lakers.

"[Tuesday's loss] was disappointing for us, and we had a tough film session before the game," Murphy said. "We wanted to come out and give good energy and good effort."

Chris Paul returned to the lineup for the Hornets, but big man Tyson Chandler missed the game after hurting his knee. Paul finished with just eight points going 3-of-12 from the floor, but did have 10 assists in the loss.

A report in New York said Donnie Walsh could become the Knicks' president of basketball operations next summer if former Pacers coach Isiah Thomas is fired.

Newsday reported Tuesday that someone with knowledge of the situation said Walsh would "certainly be open" to joining the Knicks with full control over the basketball operations.

"That is complete (expletive)," Walsh said Tuesday. "I would not be a candidate for that job for a lot of reasons. The major one is Isiah. I'm not doing that. Isiah is a friend of mine, and I wouldn't be a candidate for a job he's in."

If the season spirals away from Isiah Thomas and he is fired, one of his former bosses would be interested in replacing him.

Donnie Walsh, who is leaving the Indiana Pacers after the season to pursue another high-level front-office job, "certainly would be open" to joining the Knicks with full control over the basketball operations, someone with knowledge of his thinking said yesterday.

"It's New York, and he loves New York and he loves this league," the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Walsh, 66, has been with the Pacers for 23 years and willingly has ceded control to Larry Bird. Having played high school ball in New York City before going to North Carolina to play for Frank McGuire, Walsh would be among the most credible candidates to take over the Knicks if Thomas is unable to save his job.