IC Cold Links: Pacers Back To Work Full Time

During the holiday season, it's always nice to take a couple of extra days off, maybe do a little shopping or enjoy a little holiday cheer.

Not so for the Indiana Pacers.

A poor and porous effort in Phoenix following a day off on the road left Jim O'Brien second-guessing that decision and ready to move forward by keeping the Pacers on task every day.

"The object of resting is to have fresher legs to execute and to get done what you need to get done. We should've had fresher legs against Phoenix but they looked like the fresher team so my plan of giving the guys rest backfired."

The Pacers have a busy stretch coming up with nine games between now and a five-day break around Christmas. That busy stretch tips off tonight when the Pacers host the Toronto Raptors. Toronto should feel at home with the single-digit weather greeting us all this morning, but hopefully the Pacers will get some home cooking going at the Fieldhouse later tonight and start adding to their win total once again.

After the jump, a few links of interest including Shawne Williams playing a role in New York's recent success which includes a win over Toronto yesterday.

• Pacers not satisfied with breaking even
  Bruno's latest Caught in the Web finds a salty group of Pacers at the Fieldhouse not happy with the past two losses.
• Jim O'Brien says no days off for Pacers
  Jeff Rabjohns reports on the issues JOB sees holding the Pacers back in their losses.
• Raptors-Pacers Preview - Dec. 5, 2010 - NBA - CBSSports.com

• Knicks Win 9th in 10 Games, Beating Toronto, 116-99 - NYTimes.com
  The Knicks have pulled away from the Pacers by winning four straight games. Their win at Toronto yesterday was their seventh straight win on the road and none other than Shawne Williams is playing a big role in the wins. Hopefully, Shawne continues to take advantage of this opportunity to salvage this career.

• Pacers’ Player Stats Through 18 Games
  Jared Wade digs into the numbers after 18 games.
• O’Brien to players: No more days off for a while | Pacers Insider
  Jeff Rabjohns found JOB second guessing himself for giving the players a day off after their back-to-back games on the road.
• New York Knicks vs. Toronto Raptors - Recap - December 05, 2010 - ESPN
  The Raptors come to town after getting beat yesterday afternoon at home by the Knicks.
• Raptors Rapid Recap - New York Knicks 116 - Toronto Raptors 99
  Raptors HQ looks through Toronto's loss yesterday.