Time to get back to basketball!

Sorry for dredging up some of the unsightly past yesterday, but the narrative on the brawl just started creating an itch I had to scratch. Plus, with the Colts' loss on Sunday it was going to be a depressing Monday regardless.

But tonight the focus shifts back to the action on the court when the Indiana Pacers host the Chicago Bulls. This will be the Pacers final game before the All-Star break so it will be interesting to see how the team plays.

With six whole days off after the final buzzer, will they spill their guts and push the limits of their effort to finish strong before the break or will the mind break free from the body and start wandering early to the ASB vacation destination?

I guess there's a greater likelihood of a combination of the two throughout the roster. Sad but true. Human nature is a challenging beast sometimes.

After the jump, a few links of interest on the game tonight, Brandon Rush and the point guard minutes for the Pacers.

• PACERS: Scouting Report: Pacers vs. Bulls
  Bruno's Scouting Report finds Jim O'Brien non-committal on how he'll handle the three point guards on the roster, all making a case for playing time.
• Ford's play raises question for Pacers
  Mike Wells wonders how Jim O'Brien will handle his point guards now that T.J. Ford has shown he can still impact the game.
• Preparedness pays off for Ford
  Bruno's Caught In The Web credits T.J. Ford for showing up ready to shine when his number was called after an extended layoff.
• Pacers still mystified by Rush's inconsistency
  Mike Wells reports on no one getting overly excited about Brandon Rush's recent stretch of solid play because it's so hard to make any assumptions about the second-year player. Jim O'Brien for one, appears resigned to dealing with Rush on a day-to-day basis. "I'm certainly hoping the production he has given us over the last 15 games or so is who he is because he's playing really well," O'Brien said. "He's shooting the ball at a very high clip with a lot of confidence. On-ball defense is good. We certainly need to continue to grow him off the ball because we think he can be a special defensive player. But I'm hoping and praying that this is who he is."
• Foster to undergo back surgery, will be sidelined rest of season
  Mike Wells reports on Jeff Foster shutting it down for the season.
• Thomas returns to the Bulls
  John Jackson updates the Bulls' latest drama centered around Tyrus Thomas. It appears Thomas will be welcomed back into the playing rotation against the Pacers tonight, along with previously injured forward, Luol Deng.
• Rose taken aback by back-to-back
  Mike McGraw reports on a Chicago Bulls team arriving at the Fieldhouse near the end of a tough schedule that saw them on the road for two weeks, then play four games in five nights before playing the first of back-to-back games tonight.
• Indiana Pacers: Trade Deadline Options
  Pace Miller tosses around some trade ideas with the trade deadline approaching.