Here are a couple of items of interest:

• Pacers.com had LJL answer a fan question about the impact of Kevin Garnett and the Celtics on the East.
  Q. What impact do you think the Kevin Garnett trade will have on the landscape of the Eastern Conference, specifically towards the Pacers? (From Lee in Huntsville, Ala.)
  
  A. It'll have a big impact. You get three top players on one team, it's going to make the East tougher to win. Still, we feel a team can beat a few individuals. On paper, they look very good but until the season starts you never really know what's going to happen.
  Thanks for the effort, LJL. Actually, it would require a serious effort to give a more meaningless answer than that beauty. Bruno, are you sure you didn't just coble that answer together from previous LJL sound bites? Be honest, now.
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• For far more inciteful answers, check out the hometown hero treatment Travis Diener received today from the Fond du Lac Reporter. Not one, but two stories about TD and family. This story spotlights the Diener family while this one focuses on Diener's new gig with the Pacers. Some great stuff about TD's first face-to-face meeting with Larry Joe Legend. Plus, we hear the true story about how he broke his hand early in the offseason (playing hoops, natch). Sounds like the injury won't hold him back a bit to start the year.
  
  I must say I was pretty pumped to read TD's quotes about his workouts and plans to earn minutes.
  "My understanding is that I'm going in there to back up Tinsley, but I'm going in there to push him to be a better player," said Diener, who averaged 3.8 points, 1.3 assists and 11.1 minutes per 48-minute game last season.
  
  "I know the opportunity is going to be there for me this year. I feel like I control how many minutes I will play more so than the first two years. ... The opportunity is in my hands now. If I don't get the job done, it's on me."
  Sure I'm desperate for someone to love, but I can't help but get a good feeling about this guy. Nice to see he understands his role but plans to push Tins instead of just settling in as a backup. Sounds like he's swiggin' the kool-aid that O'B is serving.