--Larry Bird was part of the "Dream Team" that ran through opponents by an average of 43.8 points a game during the 1992 Olympics. The Pacers' president has heard the comparison between his team and the 2008 "Redeem Team", which featured Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and won the gold medal in Beijing.

"They'd give us a good run," said Bird, who averaged 8.4 points on the 1992 team. "There's too much talent on that team for them not to. We had more big guys than them, though. (Charles) Barkley was dominating in that type of game. But as far as saying who would win, that's not for me to say. That's for the media to give their opinion."

--Center Jeff Foster said he has already noticed a difference inside the locker room since forward Jermaine O'Neal was traded to the Toronto Raptors in late June. Foster said the seven new players have a chip on their shoulder and the returning players want to end the franchise's two-year hiatus from the playoffs.

"There are a lot of guys that are new to this and want to be part of the culture change," Foster said. "You have holdovers that are hungry... there's been a black cloud over us the last few years. We're ready to have a nice sunny day."

A lot of the change is because they don't have to deal with O'Neal's negative attitude toward the franchise anymore.

"It was tough because Jermaine really didn't want to be here the last couple of years," Foster said. "It was tough to become a team when your best player did not want to be on the team."

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Obviously things haven't gone the way many people expected since the brawl and Reggie (Miller) retired (in 2005). You would see that by how we played and the lack of support we got from fans." -? Center Jeff Foster, on the franchise's problems the past three years.