With the Indiana Pacers preseason schedule set to tip off tomorrow evening at the Pepsi Coliseum, here are some items of interest surrounding the team:

• First, did you hear the deafening silence yesterday regarding the Jamaal Tinsley-to-Denver trade speculation? At this point, I'll take the no news is good news approach. Mark Kizla of the Denver Post did refer to "the ridiculous rumors regarding Indiana Pacers bad boy Jamaal Tinsley" today in his column addressing Nugget needs.
• Speaking of the ABA throwback opener, check out the Pacers.com landing page right now. Teasing the masses with the red, white and blue ball. Could a  surprise be in store for Wednesday night? I have heard a radio commercial that makes a passing reference to "possibly" seeing the RWB ball. No brainer, people. Get it done!
• As for the game, Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy will not play as they continue to nurse their respective achilles and knee strains. So who will start in their place? Based on camp reports, could be Marquis Daniels and Austin Croshere. The linked story also tells us how Austin Croshere and Josh Davis have raised the competitive level of practice. Croshere appears to love playing in Jim O'Brien's system and his results back it up.
• Bruno catches Marquis Daniels and Austin Croshere in the web with more talk of their strong camps. JOB on Quisy:

  "He is far superior right now to any time but the very end of last season," O'Brien said. "I thought he played great the last month (of 2007-08). He's leading well. His defense is strong, he's scoring. We had a full half of basketball (in a scrimmage Sunday) and he had 19 points, by far our high scorer, and he led us in deflections. He's just playing very, very solid basketball.
  
  "I've always said it to anybody that wanted to listen: in my mind, he's always been a very, very key part to the success of our basketball team."
  

Bruno has us covered with today's practice report and there's plenty of good news to report. Jim O'Brien gave a glowing assessment of his team's effort thus far in camp and went so far as to shut down two-a-day practices for the rest of camp.

"I had a pretty good handle on the team before we came into training camp and they're making the strides I thought they would make," O'Brien said. "The attitude, I thought, would be great and it is. They never take a break. And they're all very unselfish.

"We still have a long way to go but they all have an idea of basketball. They understand basketball. Many, many times there are one or two guys on your team that just aren't picking things up and you have to spend more time with them. That's not the case here. As a result of having fairly high basketball IQs we can move through things fairly rapidly."

If JOB is anything, he's demanding so don't think he's being soft on his players. Conditioning is a critical component of JOB's playing style, which includes demanding practices throughout the season, sometimes on game days. If he says he's happy with the conditioning level of his team, then I'm happy too.

Also, it sounds like the defensive emphasis JOB has been detailing is starting to take hold. This team will be judged by its defensive effectiveness. I know it, you know it and the American people know it. JOB knows it, too, so again, if he's happy with the strides the team's defense has taken thus far, then I'm happy too. Jack Ramsay's happy? I'm happy.

OK, enough smiling.  There are some more nagging injuries cropping up. Jeff Foster missed Saturday's practice with a sore hammy. Shawne Williams and Maceo Bast both missed Friday night's practice but returned for Saturday. Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy and Travis Diener all remain sidelined.

The injuries don't appear major but it certainly tempers and excitement about the team's progress. When 2-3 starters are missing time, there is still plenty of work to be done to blend them back into their role once their ready to return. But with the full roster pulling together and working toward the same goal mixing players in and out of the lineup shouldn't be a problem. Let's just hope everyone sticks with the program.

Here are a couple of reports from training camp:

• Kevin Lee's updated report with audio from Jim O'Brien's post-practice press gaggle.
• Jeff Rabjohns has his Pacers Notes from JOB's comments and practice observation. JOB discussed working on some basics and emphasized playing under control, including making a jump stop under control when taking the ball into the lane, instead of jumping and hoping to make a play before landing and turning it over. That led to this humorous moment.

  Near the end of practice, O'Brien complimented center Jeff Foster on a jump stop that led to a nice pass.

  O'Brien said that was the first time he had seen that from Foster. After O'Brien's compliment, Foster said he wasn't sure how it happened, drawing laughter from his teammates and coaches.

• Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy remain on the sidelines with no return date set.
• JOB also discussed how he sees Marquis Daniels fitting in with this team.  JOB thinks Quisy is going to get a lot of playing time at the wing spot.

  Brandon's a rookie, so he has to show he deserves to be on the court. The one thing I know is Marquis deserves to be on the court. If we played tonight, Marquis would play around 30 minutes.

  Could Quisy be rising to the challenge for minutes brought on by the team's depth? That would be a nice story to see develop over camp.

Some high-level notes from the press conference with Larry Bird and David Morway. Don't consider anything here a direct quote:

• Tinsley: No deal but they are talking with a handful of teams. Pacers are in constant communication with JT's agent, they're fully aware of what the Pacers are doing.
• Not buying out Tinsley. He'll stay wherever he is until a deal is done. Tinsley knows that and his agent knows it.
• With 16 players on roster, it will be tough to cut a guy if Tinsley isn't moved. Trying to make 2 for 1 deals to clear up the roster.
• Team health: Travis Diener still has soreness in his foot. Mike Dunleavy played a lot of ball a couple of weeks ago in LA and has some knee soreness as a result. Nothing serious but he won't start camp going full tilt for both practices. Both Travis and Dun will begin camp playing but won't be going full speed for all workouts.
• Disturbed most about last year? Defense. Team should be better. More committed, long, athletic.
• Granger: Talking with his agent about a deal. Like to get a deal done but not concerned. Is a deal close? We're talking.
• Team leaders: Bird thinks a number of guys will step into a leadership role of varying degrees. Not all on one guy.
• New players all played in different systems so they'll have to get accustomed to the style and pace Jim O'Brien plays. They were careful to bring in players they think would fit JOB's style.
• With TJ Ford and Jarrett Jack, defense at the point of attack on the ball should be better (me: can't be much worse). Both tough kids, want to defend.
• Front court: Looking for consistency. Guard play should help relieve some pressure defensively from last year. Bird believes Troy Murphy is set to have his best year. He's prepared and comfortable in his surroundings. Would like to add another PF, but asking price has been too high. No JO to handle low post scoring but players should get more open shots with TJ and JJ getting the ball in the lane.
• Roy Hibbert will be a better player at the All-Star break than he is now. We'll bring him along and play to his strengths.
• Brandon Rush fitting in? He can fit in. He's been her almost all summer and it's going to be hard to keep him off the floor. Best position? He can defend well on the floor so 2 of 3 doesn't matter. With Marquis Daniels, the bench will be a lot stronger this year. Bird is interested in seeing Rush take the next step in his game because he thinks he's close.
• Camp invitees: Bird mentioned Austin being in camp. My connection stuttered and I'm assuming he meant Austin Croshere. Said he wasn't with another team and he can shoot the 3-ball so Jimmy likes him. Morway said they may bring in one other player for camp but JOB wanted a smaller roster for camp.
• Was JO's team? Whose team is it now? Jim O'Brien's team. JOB has been talking about a "team ego" this year, no more individual egos.
• Bird was asked about comments a few years ago that Tinsley would be the next Pacer All-Star. Is he disappointed at the wasted talent? Yes he's disappointed but Tins has had a lot of injuries, too. The kid's got talent, no doubt. If he can get with a team in the right situation he has plenty of game let to play at an All-Star level. Morway interjected: I'll add, he's healthy now. He's been working out this summer and is in great shape and no lingering injuries. Bird replies: That sounds like a sales job.