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.

Here's a quick round up of Pacers stories coming out of training camp:

• Bruno's Caught in the Web updates us on Travis Diener's down time and Josh Davis joining camp.
• Mike Wells focuses on Mike Dunleavy and his efforts to build on his break out effort from last year. Part of that improvement could be at the defensive end and Jim O'Brien is hopful that Dun is ready to step up his D.

  O'Brien said a player can't "dramatically" improve his lateral quickness. However, players can become better defenders by making sure their "technique is flawless, from his body position, to the angle of his feet."

  "There's nobody better on the team from a standpoint of understanding where he needs to be," O'Brien said of Dunleavy. "He's not going to be Kobe Bryant from the standpoint of containing the basketball, but there are ways -- little tricks -- that can be taught to players about how to improve and contain the ball."

• The Indy Star's Pacers notes tells us Jarrett Jack has impressed during the first two days of practice. JOB likes what he saw.

  "He had a terrific practice," O'Brien said. "He was very aggressive offensively, and Jarrett is trying to build up the habit of jump stopping in the lane to make the proper passes as opposed to leaving his feet."

  Jack is also featured in a little Q & A.

The Indy Star actually has three items on the Pacers today beginning with Mike Wells focusing on team leadership. The team has struggled to find a team leader or leaders since Reggie Miller left town. Remember, despite Reg's appetite for talking into the microphone, he wasn't a big rah rah talker behind the scenes. He led through work ethic and setting the tone for the team. Now, Bird is looking for some leaders to step forward since Jermaine O'Neal's failed attempt is over.

"Just because you make the most money doesn't mean you're the leader," Bird said last month. "A lot of guys didn't want to step on toes. Not only here, but other places I've been at. They'd say, the guy makes the most money, that means he's the leader. That's not the case. The leader comes from the guy doing the right thing, the guy that's going to be there every day at practice, the guy that plays through pain without complaining. They do the necessary things to prepare themselves.

"I think the situation you have here, you had one guy making a lot of money and everybody just took it as he's going to be leading us, and in some instances that was true. But I think more now that since it has opened you'll see a number of guys stepping up.

"Really, you just need one voice. Usually your best leaders are ones that don't say anything, they just play, prepare and do the right things."

I don't see one guy dominating this locker room, but the tone for the team will be set by Danny Granger, Mike Dunleavy and T.J. Ford, no doubt.

The Pacers camp notes has comments from Danny Granger (not worried about his contract situation), Shawne Williams (down about his run-in with the Carmel police), good wishes for Donnie Walsh and a Q&A with Rasho Nesterovic. We also learn that Josh Davis will be the power forward capable of shooting the three who will join the Pacers for training camp.

I initially missed this item on Austin Croshere joining camp with no guarantees making for an uphill battle for 44 since the Pacers already have more players under contract than the 15 allowed. Cro would be a nice veteran influence to have on the bench, but he'll have to play extremely well or hope a deal moves a couple of players off the roster. By the way, Bruno pointed this out yesterday, Cro and Rasho look like brothers.

Sure media day is great for the local media to capture sound bites and learn new faces, but Jim O'Brien will benefit the most because going through the grind of activities today should have each and every player begging to hit the practice floor tomorrow ready to do what they do -- play basketball.

The north end of the Fieldhouse was set up with seven photo stations surrounding a half-court practice set up. The players paraded out one by one to have a series of pictures taken in their freshly minted uniforms. This after going through another series of photo sessions behind closed doors. Once the players step away from the still cameras, the media is waiting to hear their comments on the eve of camp.

Guess what? Everyone is positive the Pacers are going to have a great season. Oh, wait, not everyone. Mike Dunleavy offered some pragmatic comments that were anything but canned when he said he's kind of tired of all the positive talk and how good the team could possibly be and is ready to get started so they can find out just how good the team will be in, you know, realty. I couldn't agree more.

After dealing with the pictures and media requests for comments, the players then attack a huge line of balls, jerseys and other Pacers related items waiting for their signature.  At this point, an extra set of lines or suicides probably sounds much more appealing.

Some interesting tidbits from the interviews:

• Brandon Rush was quick with his answers and visibly nervous. He even commented that he couldn't believe how nervous he was for this event. He didn't have a reason why, but obviously he's much more comfortable playing in front of a packed arena with the game on the line than he is facing a line of microphones. His eyes did light up when I asked him about receiving his National Championship ring the other day. He was looking forward to bringing it into the locker room and working toward an NBA version.
• Roy Hibbert on the other hand was smooth and unflappable. He's well aware of the holes in his game and won't ever stop working on them.
• T.J. Ford is healthy and ready to go, not so concerned with his role as a leader as he is interested in winning. JOB mentioned that Ford went to New York over the summer to meet and workout with Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy.  I like a guy who let's is actions speak for him.
• As I mentioned, Dunleavy is tired of the talk and more interested in the results, as well. He desperately wants to reach the playoffs for the first time in his career and is excited to return for a second year with the same coach running the team. He also mentioned that the team seems to get along great, so far. It's the closes to a college-team atmosphere he's ever been around in the NBA.
• Danny Granger kept the media masses waiting and gave his normal stock answers about the team, but he did mention a team softball game played a few days ago. He said it took Roy Hibbert about three strides to get from first to second base but the sight of Roy sliding into second was something to behold. Makes me cringe just thinking about it. Someone hide the softball equipment, please!

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.

The Pacers have an improved roster compared to the team that finished out last season playing pretty well. For the Pacers to have special season and solidify a playoff berth this year, several pieces to the playoff puzzle have to fall into place. In my view, one of those pieces has Brandon Rush sliding into a starting role allowing Mike Dunleavy and his versatile game to produce from a sixth man role.

Jim O'Brien commented earlier this week that Danny Granger and Dunleavy are the two confirmed starters on the roster. Not surprising since both delivered solid production over the last half of the 2007-08 season as options 1 and 1A. While it was nice to see Granger step up his game and provide a glimpse of future greatness, Dunleavy should be considered the MVP for last year's team. 

Dun thrived in Jim O'Brien's system with his ability to knock down shots, pass and move without the ball. The key is his ability to contribute on and off the ball, from the 2, 3 or 4 spot and with the starting unit or a group off the bench. Dun's versatility and ability to play, and play well, with different groups of players makes him a valuable player either as a starter or off the bench.

I don't consider this idea a demotion by any means. Dunleavy deserves to start for this team, but I think a role off the bench would maximize the talent on the roster this season. Dun playing a utility role as sixth man solidifies a second unit with experience and scoring punch. Also, combining Rush and Granger with TJ Ford as starters and then say, Dunleavy, Marquis Daniels and Jarrett Jack off the bench balances out the perimeter defensive ability of both units.

After checking the Lenovo Stats for the plus/minus success of various player combinations last year, Dunleavy's name is found at the top regardless of the number of players. In fact, he teams up with Marquis Daniels for the best plus/minus rating of any two player combination last year for the Pacers. Since Quisy should still play a key role off the bench, he's set up to succeed playing along side Dunleavy.

Now I don't expect Jim O'Brien to alter his plan from the start and I realize bringing your most productive player off the bench doesn't make a lot of sense on the surface. (By the way, do you know which player had the worst plus/minus rating for the Pacers last year? Danny Granger). But any success the Pacers have this year will rely on a full team effort going nine or even ten players deep.

Brandon Rush will first have to spend the first 10-15 games proving his game is ready to play from a starting role. If Rush can do that (big if, and a whole different puzzle piece), then balancing out the rotation with Dun coming off the bench could make a big impact. He will still be available to finish out games down the stretch; the balance of his minutes getting to that point will just be different.

Dun's role off the bench would just be one of several key elements, or puzzle pieces, that have to fit together to deliver a special season. Worth thinking about, isn't it?

The Indiana Pacers held a Pacers Foundation golf outing today with Eddie and Kravtiz on hand broadcasting their show. As you can imagine there was tons of Pacers talk and some great interviews. What I gathered from these interviews is that there is a feeling of starting the season fresh down at the Fieldhouse with dedicated players who are excited and ready to play like crazy. Sounds good to me.

Listen for yourself. Here are some of the interviews from today:

• The interview of the day was with Mel Daniels and Bob Netolicky as the conversation turned into an ode to the ABA with some great (safe for radio) stories and comparisons to today's game. Daniels scoffed at the Palace Brawl recalling a fight with the Virginia Squires that last an hour and a half and included players, coaches, fans and police. The Squires coach and a few players were arrested but there was no public outcry or media scrutiny.

• Mike Dunleavy spent part of his summer on safari in Africa. The coolest thing he saw were the lions in action and a couple of impala hunts. He also saw some giraffes that reminded him of Roy Hibbert. As for the Pacers, Dun's keeping a level head. He feels good about the changes and the chemistry of the team but you never know how it's going to turn out until you get into the season.

• Marquis Daniels reports no injuries nagging him as he heads in to the season. He's considering a Darnell Hillman-esque 'fro for the Pepsi Coliseum exhibition game, but he'll pass on the short shorts so he doesn't have to show off his bird legs.

• Jim O'Brien is amped up for the start of camp and happy with the dedication the players have shown this summer. They're all motivated to work and succeed. Then he dropped a Lou Holtz quote:  "Motivation is simple. Yyou need to eliminate those people who aren't motivated." JOB mentioned how Jermaine O'Neal wasn't motivated to be a Pacer and Jamaal Tinsley wasn't motivated to condition himself which lead to injuries. JOB also heaped praise on Roy Hibbert and his passing ability out of the post. As for the defense, he thinks it will be better just because he expects the players to own up and take responsibility for the D. Last year the team leaders never provided the spark for the team to take ownership of the defense.

• Mark Boyle's impromptu interview didn't make the podcast but it was certainly entertaining. Boyle has spent a lifetime educating himself thanks to his insatiable curiosity, as he put it. We learned today that his curious nature had him trying to cash in a favor in Michigan some time ago so he could watch an execution. The voice of the Pacers wasn't given the "opportunity" witness the execution. After recovering from that visual, we learn Boyle was able to skip the drugs and watch his colonoscopy. I just want to know what he plans to do with that information. On second thought ...

The headline had my juices flowin': Summer Forecast: Who will win the NBA title?  ESPN.com polled their NBA writers to break down which team they thought would win the NBA championship to conclude the 2008-09 season.

Sweet! Skip the conference and division break downs. This is winner take all time. Make the case for which teams are the contenders and how they might win or lose the coveted LOB trophy. Perfect.

I couldn't wait to see where they had the new look Pacers stacked up in the contenders pile. Surely they've noticed the roster make over, full of team-first guys willing to lay it on the line for Jim O'Brien and march through any challenge. Yeah, baby!

But ... wait a minute. Is this some kind of joke?

No Pacers logo among the top five contenders? I was shocked and dismayed to read nary a word on the blue and gold. In fact a search for the words 'Indiana' and 'Pacers' just returned a 'Text not found' message. Crazy.

Plus, they chose the Lakers as the most likely team the win the championship. Are you kidding me? Do you think Kobe Bryant wants to go through another humiliating championship series with no Mount-Rushmore-of the NBA-all-time-great gear to shift to in order to carry his team to the LOB? I don't think so. That's why he's keeping the pinkie injury available, so he can play it when things get too hot. I can't believe the Olympics spackled the blemishes from Kobe's June. Look, Juan Carlos Navarro won't be anywhere near a best of seven series in June for the NBA ring.

Yeesh. Well, since the ESPN hoop writers don't have the necessary vision to see the future clearly, I guess I'll just have to paint the picture for them.

The Pacers might win the 2008-09 title if ...

• Danny Granger goes into a Justice League-inspired zone on invincibility as his game rises to an All-Star level at both ends of the court. He becomes a reliable option in crunch time as the Fieldhouse faithful begin rising in unison whenever the ball swings over to 33.
• The rooks, Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert, quickly slide into contributing roles thanks to the base fundamentals and maturity they brought with them to the League. Rush's shooting meets expectations and his perimeter defense allows him to start next to Granger and put Mike Dunleavy into a utility role off the bench which earns him a shoe-in candidacy for Sixth Man of the Year honors. Hibbert's presence in the middle anchors a spectacular defensive turn around for the Pacers and Rookie of the Year consideration for the big fella.
•  T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack play 82 games keeping the Pacers offense propelling at top speed all year, wearing down teams as they try to keep pace.

The Pacers might not win the 2008-09 title if ...

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