"Jermaine O'Neal ran through his first practice in more than a month yesterday, and later said his return to the lineup may be sooner than people think.

Asked about Doc Rivers' comments earlier this week that he may not have the luxury of much practice before returning to action, O'Neal agreed to a point. Today's game against the Pacers, however, is out of the question.

"Today was pretty good," said O'Neal, who missed the last 16 games with a sore left knee. "I want one or two practices to gauge where I am, and today was one. If I can get another practice in before Wednesday's game (against Philadelphia), then I can keep seeing what I need to do.

"I've been out for a while, and I don't want to do anything dumb to ruin this process. If I can get another (practice) after tomorrow, then yeah, I'll be ready."

That would mean a return, if not on Wednesday against the Sixers then on Christmas in Orlando, Fla.

"My Christmas and New Year's wish is to be playing before both of them," he said of the holidays. "It felt good to be out there. I didn't expect too much. But I took all but two or three reps. The brace is pretty good. It keeps the knee stable. I'm familiar with it. I wore it when I had my first surgery, so I know how to play with it.""