IC Cold Links: Waiting For The Pacers To Do...Something, Anything

I really was somewhat placated by the effort the Indiana Pacers put forth last night to work themselves back into the game against the Orlando Magic. Yet, they still lost the game by 15 points.

That's not good.

It was the same ol' story on a different night. The same issues, plaguing the same players trying to do the same things that haven't been working for a couple of months.

The uninspired effort prompted yet another, "Fire Jim O'Brien" article from Bob Kravitz today which is linked below. I dare you to read it without nodding your head. Kravitz has to hold the local columnist record for the most columns calling for the firing of the same coach. The story changes slightly -- this time Kravitz goes over Larry Bird's head to directly plea with Herb Simon -- but the general issues remain the same as those that prompted a call for change last season.

Something has to change to breathe new life into this team. Look, there's no shame in losing to the Magic, but not playing with a sense of urgency for 48 minutes doesn't cut it. Once again. as we saw against the Clippers, Warriors, Blazers and Nuggets, the opponent exerted a more consistent effort and executed far better to put away the Pacers.

While the coach and players talk about putting it together and starting to win more games, we're still waiting for something, anything positive to grasp onto for the remainder of the season.

After the jump, plenty of links and free advice for the struggling Pacers, and for a little fun Reggie Miller comments on LeBron James playing villain role at Madison Square Garden tonight.

• Box score
• PACERS: Game Rewind: Magic 111, Pacers 96
  Game Rewind has highlights, interviews, analysis, notes, quotes and stats from the Pacers' game against the Orlando Magic Wednesday in Conseco Fieldhouse.
• Pacers losing streak reaches 6 games - Mike Wells reports on the Pacers losing another game last night.
• AP: Howard leads Magic past Pacers, 111-96
  Cliff Brunt reports on the Pacers' loss.
• It's time for Simon to end this charade | The Indianapolis Star
  Bob Kravitz begs for a change in leadership on the sidelines for the Pacers.
• Orlando Magic roll past Indiana Pacers with 111-96 victory - Orlando Sentinel
  Josh Robbins reports on the Magic taking care of business on the road last night.
• Orlando Magic 111, Indiana Pacers 96 - Orlando Pinstriped Post
  OPP recaps the Orlando Magic's 111-96 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. Jason Richardson and Dwight Howard scored 19 points apiece, and the Magic drained 16 three-pointers in topping the Pacers.
• The Magic Smack Around the JV Magic
  Jared Wade recaps the 3-ball dominance from Orlando.
• Season taking toll on Hibbert's ability to keep on weight
  Mike Wells notes that Roy Hibbert is trying to pack on a some weight, the Magic are still tough and Josh McRoberts is not active.
• The brown paper bags were out at Conseco | Pacers Insider
  MIke Wells comments on the issues currently facing the Pacers going beyond who is coaching the team.
• Rated Rookies: Week 13 - The Basketball Jones
  Holly Mack likes what she's seeing from Paul George now that he's getting a chance to play.
• No promises, but playoffs worth believing
  Bruno ponders Jim O'Brien's expectations for the rest of the season.
• Roy Hibbert is letting Indiana's season slip away - Ball Don't Lie
  KD comments on Roy Hibbert's season imploding along with the Pacers. If only the issue was so easy since Hibbert hasn't been the deciding factor in a game for some time. Although, the point here is not that Hibbert is the sole reason for the losses, but that he could elevate the team to more wins and just can't.
• Improving Defense from the Point Guard Spot
  Jared Wade looks at what Darren Collison needs to do to help improve the team's defense.
• Reggie Miller has advice for LeBron James while playing Knicks at Garden: 'embrace' role as villain
  Reggie offers LeBron some advice on enjoying his adversarial role at MSG tonight.