"To say as a coach, we're going to go with him as our point guard despite the injuries, you can't do that," O'Brien said. "I would love to see him healthy, but that has not been the track record. It's very, very difficult to depend on him when physically, he's been undependable. When he's on the court, we know what we're going to get. He's a great assist guy, he runs the fast break great. But based on the track record of physical elements, how much can you depend on him?"

O'Brien's stance with Tinsley has drastically changed in the past year because the Pacers coach openly campaigned for Tinsley to be his starting point guard when he was hired in May 2007.

Their relationship took a turn for the worse when Tinsley injured his left knee in the middle of December. The injury, which the Pacers refer to as a bone bruise, limited Tinsley to a career-low 39 games last season.

O'Brien also didn't mention Tinsley's name when talking about the team's core group for the future. Tinsley has averaged only 49 games a season in each of the past five years.

"It comes down to whether Jamaal is healthy enough to be part of the mix for the future," O'Brien said.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT: Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy both thrived in coach Jim O'Brien's up-tempo offense. The two averaged career highs in points and were the focal point of an offense that relied on three-point shooting. Both players attempted at least 389 three-pointers, with Granger making 171 and Dunleavy making 165.

TURNING POINT: The Pacers lost at least three straight games seven times this season. They would have likely made the playoffs if they had half as many losing streaks. Lack of mental and physical toughness is the reason behind the constant losing streaks. They lost more than 10 games where they had leads of at least 10 points.