SB Nation - Indiana Pacers

Larry Bird Celebrates Birthday With MRI Results

Tom Lewis — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:28:32 -0000

What do you give a man who has everything for his birthday?

Well, for legendary NBA Hall of Famer and Pacers' president, Larry Bird you get a present from your training staff in the form of the MRI results on Danny Granger's bruised heel. Bird celebrates his 53rd birthday today while keeping tabs on his all-star player's immediate health status. The team reports that the MRI results will be available tomorrow, but I'm sure the boss has already been apprised of the results.

Bird certainly won't want the MRI to reveal any surprises. The current diagnosis of a bruised heel is annoying and requires rest and treatment. The rest part of the equation includes staying off the foot as much as humanly possible, which is why Granger's appearance on crutches today and reports of his arrival back in town in a wheel chair shouldn't elicit an overreaction.

The scary part of the story is the fact that they're verifying the bruise with an MRI, which raises some unease that maybe there's more than a bruised heel causing the discomfort. Here's a quick primer on a bruised heel which includes this general recovery information aimed at amateur athletes.

If you catch heel pain early and rest then it should recover quite quickly - within a few days. If you ignore the first onset of pain and the fat pad gets damaged beyond easy repair then this is a very difficult injury to treat. Rest means rest. There is no point you stopping running for a week if you put up scaffolding for a living and are on your feet every day. If you have to be on your feet then ensure you put a shock absorbing and cushioning heel insert into your shoes.

Let's just hope the MRI determines the amount of heel pad damage and thus rest needed to get Granger back on the court. The thing we don't want mentioned in the same sentence with Granger is, plantar fasciitis.

With plantar fasciitis we move past the bruise and onto strained tendons and bone spurs which would certainly ruin Bird's birthday.

Pacers Face A Week of Reckoning Amidst Losing Streak

Tom Lewis — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:23:43 -0000

The Indiana Pacers face an interesting week, starting with a couple of days to work through their on-court issues before playing the Portland Trailblazers on Wednesday evening.

The Blazers will provide a stern test as one of the top teams in the Western Conference, trying to work through their own issues. See the Blazers are winning, just not enough as they try to figure out how best to use all of their young talent. The Pacers would be lucky to have the Blazers' problems right now. It's just a shame Greg Oden was injured before he was able to make a triumphant return to Conseco Fieldhouse where he won several high school championships.

The Pacers' issues, however have moved past the opponent. The combination of injuries and inexperience along with new players in critical roles have left Jim O'Brien and the players in search of a winning combination.

But at this point, the Pacers' issues have even moved past winning. All of these same problems (injuries, inexperience, unfamiliarity) were factors last season, as were the losses, but this year is different. Last year's team gave you something to cling onto. All of the close games, down to the last possession revealed a gritty team, often playing above their head. If only they could get a stop, last year's team would've been the darlings of the city.

Forget the stops this year. The Pacers can't get going offensively and once it starts going bad it seems to worsen exponentially. It seems like there have already been more stagnant possession, with poor spacing, no ball or man movement than we saw all of last year. These lovelies usually end with a jumper created out of rhythm or a forced drive into traffic for an off-balance shot attempt/beg for a foul. Rarely productive and never fun to watch.

This is the NBA though and wins and losses are THE measure of a team. After the Blazers, the Pacers face the New Jersey Nets at home on Friday and then the Washington Wizards on the road Saturday. An 0-3 week with no signs of improvement should bring with it some sort of change. I realize Danny Granger may not be available, but the rest of the players on the roster are paid to perform, as well. Plus, don't complain to the Nets or Wizards about a couple of injuries.

So, assuming the worst, then what? Fire the coach? Make a trade?

Jim O'Brien may end up being the fall guy if things don't turn around soon, and by turn around, I don't necessarily mean going on a winning streak, but at least having the team play 48 minutes of solid basketball. Judging by my inbox and comments, the paying public has grown weary of JOB at the helm of the Pacers. From the Laz-E-Boy it seems like the team has, as well. For brief stretches on the road trip, you could tell the team had orders to do things differently, like take the ball to the rim instead of settling for jumpers, but too often the same issues continue to plague the Pacers. There's only so many different ways the same person can deliver the same message, and if that message isn't getting through then someone else needs to try.

So how the Pacers play in home games this week against Portland and New Jersey, and then on the road Saturday against Washington will be very interesting. More of the same poor play and worse, three losses will make a change difficult to avoid. I realize Larry Bird has legitimate leave JOB in charge for now, but can you imagine if the Pacers lose to the Nets at home? The Fieldhouse will be an ugly scene. Giving the faithful (and anyone at the Fieldhouse on Friday is faithful, if nothing else) some sort of change at least acknowledges that the organization doesn't accept the current effort is willing to try something different.

Just don't forget, the Pacers still can't make significant changes to the roster and hoping for a critical trade involving one or more of the high-priced veterans is crazy talk. The Troy Murphy's and T.J. Ford's on the roster had cumbersome contracts before last summer when the salary market depressed. Now, their contracts with another year remaining are still a problem. Even if a team wanted the players, making any sort of fair deal is about impossible.

So there's no easy fix in sight. And believe me, changing the coach this year isn't going to do anything but give people something else to complain about. But before anything changes, let's see how the team responds to a couple of days off and three games to prove they're capable of playing better at both ends of the court.

Here are few links of interest:

Unsettled Pacers seek answers
Mike Wells digs into some of the issues causing the Pacers' problems.
Hansbrough faces growing pains adjusting to NBA
Mike Wells reports on rookie Tyler Hansbrough adjusting to NBA life with inconsistent play and minutes.
Injuries continue to plague Oden's NBA career
Greg Oden, the former Lawrence North legend has a tough road ahead to resume his NBA career, let alone ever becoming the dominant big man as projected.
Every day is about survival
Jim O'Brien continues his exemplary service to the community as an advocate for the city's homeless.

Pacers Return Home As Granger Receives MRI Today In Indy

spstevenson — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:26:10 -0000

More photos » by Lori Shepler - AP

Earl Watson and the other Pacers role players will have to step it up again as Danny Granger could miss some game time while healing latest injury.

Browse more photos »

When somebody tries to define what a "bad" road trip means, they will look at the Indiana Pacers first trip to the West Coast during the 09-10 season. Disaster may be a better description.

Bad losses, season lows on offense and defense, players that disappeared like farts in the wind and another bite by the injury bug has left this Pacers team in shambles as it heads back to Indianapolis today. After dropping an 88-72 defeat to the Clippers on Saturday, Indiana has now lost nine of its past 10 games. Coupled with the loss of Danny Granger and things are looking bleak in Indy. There isn't much to hang your hat on here.

Nobody was sure after the game what the extent of Granger's injury could mean for the immediate future. The star went lame in the opening minute of the third quarter and fell to the ground before being carried off the floor. The injury was diagnosed as a re-aggravation of his bruised right heel, an injury that has plagued him all season long. Mike Wells reported that Granger is expected to get an MRI today and that he left the arena last night with a walking boot on his right foot.

Asked about the injury, coach Jim O'Brien said that Granger was "a key guy". Thanks, Jim. The blue and gold have three days off until they play a Greg Oden-less Portland on Wednesday. Granger, who has only been playing in games and not practicing for several weeks as he tries to rest the heel, would presumably be smart to take some time off to get this thing fixed. At this point, the team is in such disarray that him playing on a bum heel and not getting any better doesn't make much sense. Hopefully we'll learn more today or Monday.

Check out the jump for more links.

AP Story
Box Score
Photo Gallery
NBA.com Recap
Mike Wells recaps the game as he notes that the Pacers are frustrated and unsure about what's going on with this team after a terrible Western road trip.
In the Wells notebook article, fans learn that coach Jim O'Brien is concerned with team's offensive struggles. Are we sure that "concerned" is the right word? Terrified? Perturbed? Appalled? Here's what JOB told Wells before Saturday's season-low 72-point game: "We have a lack of recognizing that when we move we're hard to guard. The fact that we don't move all the time is not good. We're so successful in a movement. When we stand and run set plays, we struggle. It's the same pattern that we had last year. It's trying to figure out the rotation with the guys coming in and out the lineup."
The Pacers Inside The Game team must have had a difficult time trying to choose a Player of the Game for this one. The story features an ~~interesting~~ sickening Stat of the Night: "In back-to-back losses to the Jazz and Clippers, the Pacers were outrebounded 111-72 and outscored 34-3 on second-chance points."
Jared Wade of Eight Points, Nine Seconds is not a happy camper and he vented his frustration about the Pacers lack of offense in a recap of last night's game.
Wells' blog post gives us insight into who he would start as the Pacers coach: T.J. Ford, Dahntay Jones, Mike Dunleavy, Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert.
Always Miller Time sums up the Pacers week in a picture.
Clippers Blog and Clips Nation had the game covered from the Clippers perspective.
And your latest on Indianapolis-native Greg Oden's season-ending injury courtesy of ESPN.com.

Clippers 88, Pacers 72: Granger Leaves Game As Indiana Crumbles Late Without Star Guard

spstevenson — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:20:25 -0000

More photos » by Lori Shepler - AP

Danny Granger left Saturday's game at the beginning of the second half and did not return as the Pacers dropped another loss.

Browse more photos »

If only Jimmy Chitwood could have donned his Hickory High jersey and played the second half with the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night. The actor who played the Hoosiers icon sat courtside as the Pacers put on another disaster of a performance during the waning minutes in their final game of a Western road trip.

After trailing by only two points at halftime, star Danny Granger reinjured his bruised right heel at the start of the second half and although the blue and gold hung around until the fourth, the injury helped sealed the team's fate. Even Chitwood couldn't have stopped the ensuing collapse.

The Pacers committed 21 turnovers, made only 37.5 percent from the floor, produced a season-low point total and lost for the ninth time in their last 10 games as the Clippers steamrolled the blue and gold in the final seven minutes en route to a 88-72 Pacers loss. The young season reached another low point for the Pacers (6-12).

With 2:38 remaining in the third quarter, rookie Tyler Hansbrough's two free throws brought the Pacers within two as the Cips led 56-54. Indiana would remain in the game until midway through the fourth quarter when an Earl Watson layup brought the Paces within two again with 6:54 remaining in the game. Unfortunately, Indiana would score only four more points in the final seven minutes. Three crucial turnovers, including a 24-second violation, and several clankers off the basket showed some glaring holes in the Pacers offense down the stretch. Granger's playmaking ability was sorely missed as the team was left without anyone to take over the game.

While the Pacers' offense went comatose in the final minutes, the defense and rebounding was also to blame. All five Clippers starters scored in double figures. Marcus Camby also grabbed 17 rebounds, helping Los Angeles to a 58-34 rebounding advantage, including a 19-4 edge on the offensive end. Both totals were season highs for the Clippers.

Indiana finished its Western road trip with an unimpressive and disheartening 0-4 record. This game was really a downer in the fourth. Just read some of our fan's reactions on the game thread. This one was got ugly, quickly. Check out more after the jump, if you dare.

Before leaving the game with his injury, Granger made 4-of-12 shots for 11 points. He had a couple of nice, forceful drives in the first half, but he was mostly a nonfactor before the injury anyway. Clippers center Chris Kaman said the following about the Pacers star: "He was not playing well tonight," Kaman said of Granger. "He is a great player and does a great job for them, but we did a good job defensively. He was missing shots and then he got injured."
Troy Murphy came through with a team-high 37 minutes and team-high 13 points tonight. Yeah, that should tell you a lot about the game. Murph also grabbed a team-high nine boards.
Jeff Foster started in place of Roy Hibbert in this one, but he didn't stay on the court very long. Hibbert entered the game quickly with about eight minutes to go in the first quarter and Foster was limited to only 12 minutes. Hibbert bounced back from his past two bad performances on the road trip to score 12 points in the post. It was nice to see the team feed him the ball on the block after being neglected of late. It was Hibbert's first game in double-digits in the past nine games.
Where art thou, T.J. Ford? The starting point guard must be playing some of the worst ball that a starting NBA caliber point guard can play right now. Another listless performance left the team's leadership position at a season-low in this one. Ford had another goose egg in the points column, had two assists, two turnovers and four fouls in 18 minutes. Luckily, Earl Watson, who struggled shooting the ball, proved his worth again by dishing out nine of the team's 19 assists.
Mike Dunleavy and Hansbrough both exceeded their minute limits tonight as Dunleavy played 22 and the rookie totaled 20. Dunleavy scored 10 points off the bench.
The Pacers held the Clippers to shooting 34.9 percent from the field tonight. Indiana shot 37.9 percent from the court.
Eric Gordon, who is still struggling with injuries, started for the Clippers but scored a season-low six points on 2-for-7 shooting.

IC Cold Links: O'Brien Will Play Dunleavy In Close Games, Despite Minute Limit

spstevenson — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 13:54:05 -0000

More photos » by Steve C Wilson - AP

Dahntay Jones and the Pacers will try to salvage their Western road trip tonight by attempting a win at the Clippers.

Browse more photos »

Had Mike Dunleavy been allowed to be on the court during the final seven minutes of the Indiana Pacers loss to Sacramento this week, it could have meant a +1 in the win column.

Instead, coach Jim O'Brien's hand was forced by the Pacers medical staff to bench Dunleavy the remainder of the game, thus thrusting Brandon Rush, who was cruising toward a DNP-CD, into the lineup for the final stretch. Dunleavy had reached his 20-minute limit. But don't expect to see that happen again.

O'Brien told the Indianapolis Star's Mike Wells that if the game is close, the minute limit will go bye-bye. "I will never let that happen again," O'Brien told Wells. "I'm just playing him when the game is on the line unless something is bothering him. I don't think you can become totally reliant on a number even though it's a well thought out number by our medical people. You have to win basketball games."

The Dunleavy Deal was immediately put to the test last night when the blue and gold clawed back from a 19-point deficit to make things interesting in the fourth. The shooting guard had reached his 20-minute limit, but he came back into the game with more than two minutes remaining and finished the game with 10 points. His presence in the final minutes, where he dished an assist, grabbed a rebound but also missed a crucial 3-pointer, didn't stop the Pacers from being handed a 96-87 loss.

Really, until the Pacers learn to gel with the recently healed Dunleavy and Troy Murphy, and learn how to play with the same defensive intensity for an entire game that they showed in the second half last night, the Pacers losing slide (eight of the last nine) will continue no matter how many minutes Dunleavy plays in the final minutes. But this is yet another small step in the right direction that might help this team get off the snide.

Indiana has a chance to keep this Western road trip from being a total disaster with a win at the Clippers tonight. Check out more links after the jump.

AP Story
Box Score
NBA.com Recap
Photo Gallery
Bruno's Inside The Game report names Danny Granger the Player of the Night (26 points, eight rebounds, three assists), while also giving us an interesting stat the Pacers New and Improved starting lineup with Dahntay Jones and Roy Hibbert in the lineup has has been outscored 163-128 in the past two games. Hibbert, obviously, has not been up-to-par with another not-so-wonderful performance last night (zero points, one rebound in 14 minutes), but Jones deserves to be in the starting lineup and should stay there for good. Hibbert had the chance to grab the starting spot by the yahoo's, but he's left the door wide open for Jeff Foster to reclaim some territory.
Mike Wells recaps the game from Salt Lake City as he notes the Pacers have slim chances to win when falling so drastically behind in the first quarter.
Also, Wells' new Pacers Insider blog post looks into Hibbert's ineffectiveness of late and more information on O'Brien valuing Dunleavy down the stretch.
Here's a link to Eight Points, Nine Seconds' game preview against the Jazz on Friday.
The Deseret News covers the Pacers loss from the Jazz perspective. Here is also the game thread from SB Nation's SLC Dunk.

Jazz 96, Pacers 87: Pacers Leave Win Safe And Sound In Utah

Tom Lewis — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 05:39:33 -0000

More photos » by Steve C Wilson - AP

Deron Williams was channeling Dr. Dunkenstein in the green throwback uniforms for the Jazz.

Browse more photos »

The Utah Jazz led the whole game, but the Indiana Pacers still should have won.

One problem, though -- they only count points if you put the ball in the basket.

If the Pacers had even an average shooting night, they would've swiped a road win in Utah and been rewarded for digging themselves out of an early hole. Instead, at winning time in the fourth quarter, the Pacers came up empty, allowing the Jazz to hang on for the win, 96-87.

The Pacers really dug in defensively, early in the fourth quarter and earned a few stops which they used to cut the lead. Then the Jazz just caught a case of the clanks, themselves, giving the Pacers ample opportunity to not only catch up on the scoreboard but even take control of the game.

Consider it opportunity lost.

With 8:36 left in the game, Brandon Rush hit a three-pointer to draw the Pacers within four at 82-78. They had been stuck trying to get over the 7-point hump most of the half, so this was a breakthrough. Momentum seemed to be fully on the Pacers' side. Warm up the get-a-way plane, a W theft appeared to be in progress.

But alas, all of that good feeling oozed away slowly and painfully until the final buzzer.

When forced to scrape up a shot in the half-court, the Pacers had trouble just passing the ball around, let alone running a set play or any semblance of motion to create a good look. We're talking game-on-the-line, two or three possession game with plenty of time and the Pacers have four guys looking at each other on the perimeter simply trying to pass it to one another.

The spacing is cramped, everyone is easily covered and a contested, off-balance shot seems like a relief. Twice, Danny Granger couldn't even get his shot to the rim as he forced it up while wearing Wesley Matthews. One shot attempt was so bad, Matthews was credited with a steal.

In fact, those two possessions were among the many empty possessions after Rush's hope-lifting three. From that point with 8:36 left in the game, the Pacers only scored two points over the next five minutes of game time.

Incredibly, the Jazz were nearly as bad on offense and couldn't put away the Pacers, which brings us to the final two minutes of the game. The Pacers were down 92-87 after T.J. Ford made a layup with 1:54 remaining in the game. Plenty of time. Plenty of options. Even after the Jazz moved up by seven points on their next possession, there was still a chance.

Of course, you've seen the score, the Pacers didn't score again. Worse, their attempts to do so, again forced the eyebrows to raise along with the blood pressure. They were playing like they DIDN'T have a chance. Dahntay Jones shots a corner three with no one in rebounding position. He's not a three-point shooter. It seemed like a desperation shot. A lot can happen in the NBA with 1:14 left.

Just not tonight.

The game stayed at seven while the Pacers continued to shoot rushed, long 3-balls. In that final 1:14 the Pacers would shoot five three-pointers, all out of rhythm and all making it easy on the Jazz to close out the game.

A few more thoughts:

The game started with a 22-3 run by the Jazz. Utah ran off of turnovers and missed shots, used some crafty interior passing and made oodles of easy buckets. The Pacers meanwhile appeared afraid of the paint and shot jumper after jumper without moving the ball or bodies in search of a better option. By the time the dust settled on the first quarter, the Pacers were down 32-14 and they were lucky it was that close. Not sure if this was rock bottom, but with the lack of energy early and the soft play, it sure seemed like the Pacers had touched some limestone.
The Pacers came to life in the second quarter, working the ball into the lane more and drawing some fouls (funny how that happens). The shots from the line and the field started falling and with 45 seconds left in the half, the Pacers had the ball and a chance to cut the what was once a seemingly insurmountable lead down to five. Instead, the possession ended in a turnover and before the half ended, the Jazz reeled off six quick points to push the lead back to 13. All that hard work climbing back into the game, gone in an instant.
The Pacers started their comeback in the third quarter comeback, but again made it tough on themselves with their poor free throw shooting. At one point, Troy Murphy and T.J. Ford missed 6 of 8 freebies. The second-half free throw woes were an important part of the losing equation.
Last year, the Pacers seemed to always have a random player from the opponent go off for a career or season-high in points. Tonight, rookie Wesley Matthews had a career-high 18 points to go along with some solid defense on Danny Granger. Also, Carlos Boozer had a season-high 35 points along with 13 rebounds.
After a huge game on the glass in Sacramento, the Pacers only gathered three offensive rebounds compared to 14 o-rebs the Jazz utilized quite nicely.

Preview - Indiana Pacers @ Utah Jazz

Basketball John — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:29:27 -0000

Ho, ho, ho, Green Giant

View full size photo »

How appropriate that on the night when the Jazz break out the green and yellow retros that they face the team from the John Deer capital of the world (I can't back that up). The same state where Sloan heads to drive those tractors in the off-season.

The last time the Jazz faced the Pacers at the ESA, they probably should have lost if you look at the box score. The Pacers shot 50% from the floor including 13 of 22 from downtown. They had 34 assists and evened the rebound battle.

But they didn't count on the Turk.

Memo went off for 43 points that surprisingly included only three three-pointers. He lived at the line putting down 14 of his 15 attempts while also going 13 of 19 from the field. Money had to step up as a result of injuries. Check out the starters:

Deron, Price, Memo, AK, and Ronnie B. Nobody on the bench hardly played at all.

This year's Pacers aren't the best offensive team, in fact they're near the bottom. The only reason why they have a relatively high PPG total is that they play at a higher pace than most of the league.

Their defense is solid but because of that high pace, they'll give up a lot of points to other teams. With the Jazz rolling on offense like they are now, we should see a pretty high-scoring game.

The Pacers are led of course by Danny Granger, someone who's capable of dropping 50 on you any given night and especially against the Jazz. He's their biggest three-point threat right now. In fact, he's shooting an almost better percentage from the arc (37.3%) than he is in FG% (41%) overall. Now that we'll have CJ back, hopefully we can slow him down a bit with Matthews, CJ, AK, and Brewer.

The Pacers come into this game struggling having lost 5 of their last 6 and are at the tail end of a 4-game road trip. Hopefully the Jazz stick it to the Pacers early and take care of things. I'm hoping that the layoff hasn't impacted their chemistry too much.

Indy Cornrows for the Pacers side of things.
TBJ
Game Thread @ 6:30

Pacers Will Need To Conjure Up Some Sort Of Defense To Stop Jazz

spstevenson — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:59:29 -0000

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

Dahntay Jones and the Pacers will need easy buckets like these to keep up with one of the hottest shooting NBA teams tonight in Utah.

Browse more photos »

This probably isn't the best time for the Indiana Pacers to visit the Utah Jazz. Of course, really when would there be a better time this season? Definitely not until the Pacers learn to play defense.

The Jazz (10-6) and Pacers are streaking, although both in opposite directions, and Utah's recent six wins in seven games have allowed the team to find its offensive intensity and efficiency that was missing at the beginning of the season. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the Jazz nearly set a team record the other night by shooting better than 60 percent from the field for the third straight game (the team made 58 percent of its shots in a 120-93 thumping of Memphis on Monday). The Jazz have also scored more than 100 points all but three times this season.

Umm, as you can guess, that's probably not good for the Pacers right now. Unless the team picked up some sort of magical defense elixir on its trip from Sacramento to Utah, Indiana will need to conjure up players who can defend the pick-and-roll and the perimeter for tonight's matchup. Neither of those things have happened often this season.

Indiana will continue to use its new nine-man rotation tonight against Utah, but the team will probably run into problems in the fourth quarter again when Mike Dunleavy and Tyler Hansbrough reach their maximum minute schedules of 20 minutes and 16 minutes, respectively. No doubt about it, tonight will be a tough game for the defensive-lapsing Pacers.

But don't get down and turn that frown upside down. Check out the links after the jump and give a little prayer. Miracles still happen.

Mike Wells reports that the Pacers are still trying to find excuses for their poor play of late. He notes that the Pacers last had success this season when Troy Murphy wasn't in the game and when the team played small-ball, but coach Jim O'Brien said that lineup isn't likely to return because of how vital Murphy is to spreading the floor. Also, here's a quote from T.J. Ford, effectively citing enough evidence for his own benching:

"I don't know what we're going through right now, but it's not good. I don't know, but we have to figure out how to be consistent as a collective group. I guess you find the guys that are the most productive and play them. Just do what it takes." -- T.J. Ford

Bruno talks about the new playing rotation (Dahntay Jones and Roy Hibbert in the starting lineup) and how it affects the team.
ESPN's 30 for 30 series has been really good so far, but apparently the sports movie that has everybody talking is the one about titled "Winning Times: Reggie Miller vs. The Knicks". The film, by documentarian Dan Klores, will be featured at the Sundance Film Festival and is being touted on many "hot topic" lists for films being shown there. Sounds like a good one.
Ron Artest clarified his statements about drinking during the halftime of NBA games during his first two years in the league, according to the Indianapolis Star. The former Pacers player said he wanted to get the information out there so young people could learn from his mistakes.
Don't try to reconfigure your TV screen tonight during tonight's game against the Jazz. Standard.net reports that the Jazz are set to wear their green throwbacks tonight. No word if the Pacers are joining the retro party.
The Indianapolis Star writes that Bright House has extended its partnership with the Pacers.

IC Cold Links: Pacers Continue Calibrating Lineup, Looking For Winning Combination

Tom Lewis — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:35:16 -0000

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

5 days ago: Indiana Pacers head coach Jim O'Brien questions a foul called against his team during the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings in an NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009. The Kings beat the Pacers 110-105.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Browse more photos »

There was plenty of promise in the Pacers play by the end of the first quarter last night.

Not only were the Pacers winning 33-30, but nine different players had played with enough energy and focus to make it appear that maybe Jim O'Brien was closing in on a reliable playing rotation. Prior to the game, JOB mentioned his intention to include nine players in his rotation (starters: Ford, Dahntay, Granger, Murphy, Hibbert, bench: Dunleavy, Watson, Foster, Hansbrough) with the remaining three used as needed.

The solid play continued through much of the second quarter with the second unit making all kinds of hustle plays and extending the lead to ten points. For maybe the first time all year, things seemed settled with clearly defined roles. You could actually envision everyone understanding, accepting and then building on their role in the rotation.

But then the starting unit returned flat to finish out the half allowing the Kings to turn a 10-point deficit into a three point lead at the break. From there, the team just didn't play well or adjust to the adversity of falling behind with enough sense of urgency to do anything about it. Plus, minute limits on Dunleavy and Hansbrough left the playing rotation jumbled at a critical time in the fourth quarter. Even though the game remained within reach in the fourth quarter, it never felt like the Pacers would get over the hump to steal the win.

So while it remains a work in progress, I still think the playing rotation used last night gives the Pacers their best chance to win and it would be nice to see the players get a chance to grow into their roles by maintaining some consistency. Then all the players have to do is, you know, play better.

After the jump, plenty of links of interest from the loss last night.

Box score and highlights
The Associated Press: Tyreke Evans scores 26 points in Kings' victory
PACERS: Inside the Game: Pacers at Kings
Plenty of goodies in the numbers to drive you nuts. Pacers not only won the battle of the boards but also scored more points in the pin, fast-break points and second-chance points. Points off turnovers went to the Kings, though.
Pacers fall to Kings, drop 4 under .500
Mike Wells reports on the Pacers dropping another game, remaining in a losing funk.
Struggling Rush heads to bench, Jones replaces him
Mike Wells reports on Brandon Rush losing his starting spot to Dahntay Jones.
It will be a winless road trip for the Pacers
Mike Wells sees an 0-4 road trip playing out by Sunday morning, especially if Troy Murphy and Jeff Foster continue to lead the team in assists.
Danny Granger Featured as a Guest Writer for SLAM Magazine’s “How to Improve Every Year”
8.9 reviews Granger's "How To" advice, hoping he'll practice what he's preaching.
Teamwork helps the Kings win fourth in a row
Sam Amick reports on the Sacramento Kings working together to beat the Pacers and extend their winning streak to four.
Kings Move Above .500 With 110-105 Win Over Pacers
TZ and Sactown Royalty embrace the Kings' win which moves them over .500 for the season.

Kings Move Above .500 With 110-105 Win Over Pacers

Ziller — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:27:37 -0000

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

Browse more photos »

Tyreke Evans took T.J. Ford out of the game in the first quarter. Literally. Evans so abused Ford that Pacers coach Jim O'Brien had no choice but to pull his point guard eight minutes in. Ford only played 12 more minutes the rest of the game, finishing with zero points, one assist and two turnovers.

That might have been the difference in the game -- getting a goose egg from a vital offensive weapon who happens to be undersized against normal point guards (never mind a creature like 'Reke) and as such gives up 16 first-quarter points ... that's pretty huge. And it happened only because of Evans's tools, and his willingness to use them. That first Ford stint was an 8-minute match-up problem. That's why you draft players like Evans.

Elsewhere on the court, Spencer Hawes out-Murphyed Troy Murphy, hitting three threes (Murphy had one) and generally doing what he pleased on the court. He and Jason Thompson (who was also effective on offense), however, got murdered on the boards, giving up an outrageous 22 offensive rebounds for Indiana. The Pacers took 43 percent of all offensive rebound opportunities, which is way way too many.

But thanks to the humming offense (and awful Pacers defense), the Kings pulled it out.