The Indiana Pacers remain consistently inconsistent.

After an up and down preseason, the Pacers look forward to opening night on Wednesday in San Antonio carrying a familiar set of issues along with them.

Whether it be Roy Hibbert, Darren Collison, Josh McRoberts or anyone else in the playing rotation, a poor night from any combination of players is usually too much for the Pacers to withstand. When the team is in sync and shots are falling, wins are always in play despite the narrow margin for error.

But if Hibbert struggles and lets down, or Collison turns it over in bunches, or McRoberts fades into the background while all of the above struggle defensively, losses are hard to avoid. I single out these three in particular because I feel if they can provide any sort of consistent production along with Danny Granger then the Pacers can remain in most games when it comes to winning time in the fourth.

They still need to play well to then actually win, but forget it on those off nights. Unfortunately, this is the all-too familiar formula from the past two years that has kept the win totals declining in the 30s.

After the jump, plenty of links from the past couple of days.

• Bulls/Pacers box score and "highlights"
• Pacers sputter in final tuneup
  Mike Wells reports on the Pacers' lousy loss to close out the preseason.
• AP: Deng leads Bulls over Pacers in preseason
• PACERS: Barac impressive in exhibitions against NBA teams
  Caught in the Web: Former second-round pick Stanko Baracwas impressive with Caja Laboral (Spain) in two exhibition games against NBA teams, showing the Pacers plenty of evidence of his growth as a prospect.
• Bulls Pound Pacers 102-74
  Tim Donahue didn't see anything worth praising from the Pacers in Chicago.
• Sources: Portland Trail Blazers to trade PG Jerryd Bayless
  The Blazers finally give up on Jerryd Bayless, sending him to New Orleans and former Blazers assistant coach Monty Williams for a first round pick.
• Pacers have a long way to go
  Mike Wells warns against high expectations for the Pacers if their inconsistent ways continue into the regular season.
• Bird still has boss's support, but also plenty of critics
  Anthony Schoettle has plenty of interesting comments on Larry Bird's front office tenure as he heads into the final year of his contract.
• Last Weekend of Hope: Eastern Conference | ProBasketballTalk
  Matt Moore takes a tour through the East looking for the best case scenario for each team.
• Time to take 5 in NBA - CharlotteObserver.com
  Rick Bonnell takes 5 on a NBA topics with the regular season ready to start.