The Pacers have played 51 games and coach Jim O'Brien is still constantly tinkering with his starting lineup.
Part of the problem is because of injuries to key players. The other problem is the Pacers have been too inconsistent for O'Brien to have a reliable lineup. O'Brien shook things up again when he went with a "small" lineup against the Orlando Magic on Friday. The Pacers coach started T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack in the backcourt with Danny Granger, Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy in the frontcourt. Jeff Foster went to the bench.
O'Brien said he made the switch because he was tired of seeing his team get off to slow starts.
The move worked and the Pacers pulled out the 107-102 victory.
"Granger, Dunleavy, Murphy and Foster, when they started games with Jarrett or T.J., we're not getting the job done defensively at an alarming rate," O'Brien said. "Early on in the year we were getting off to leads, we're digging holes for ourselves (now). I have to find a way to stop that. The best lineups we've had defensively the last five games have all been small lineups."
Going small is probably the best way for O'Brien to go because that allows them to have four outside shooters on the court.
PACERS 107, MAGIC 102: Forward Danny Granger scored 14 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter to help hold off the Magic and end a three-game losing streak. Six Pacers, including all five starters, scored in double-figures. The Pacers only turned the ball over 10 times and they caught a break with Magic center Dwight Howard going 5-of-12 from the free throw line.
