The All-Star break behind them, their mental batteries recharged by a few days in the sun and sand, or quiet time with family, the Pacers have re-convened for the rest of the season.
Now what?
With 30 games remaining, an 18-34 record and a 7½-game chasm separating them from eighth place in the East, they're not talking about the playoffs. Neither are they giving up on that goal, however distant.
At the moment, though, the idea is to win as many games as possible and see how things shake out.
"We need to win a lot more games," said Danny Granger. "It's a challenge we've faced for the last two or three years. We have to stay positive, pray the other teams lose and win some games."
Eighth-place Chicago is on pace to win 40 games. To reach that total, the Pacers would need to go 22-8 down the stretch.
"You can't worry about the playoffs," said Mike Dunleavy. "We're not in position to do that right now. You've got to worry about winning every game as it comes, take one game at a time. If we get ahead of ourselves and think we need to win a few in a row or something like that, we're just not there yet."
They're relatively healthy, though Jeff Foster's out for the year. Getting Tyler Hansbrough back for a month or so would be a nice bonus, although there's no indication whether that's a reasonable goal.
If something happens by Thursday's 3 p.m. trade deadline, there would be new faces to assimilate, new talent to analyze. If not, the biggest thing the players must do is regain their competitive edge.
"Our intensity has to go to a whole other level and it has to be as a whole," said Earl Watson. "I'm not sure if we're to the point where we can get to the point that we're all there. We have to challenge ourselves. … That has to be our focus. We have to come out and be scrappy. We have to play with aggression on both ends and we have to grow as a team.
"You expect that with young teams but at the same time you're a competitor and you want to challenge yourself to get better, you want to challenge yourself to grow immediately."
No deals but plenty of discussion
When word leaked of Cleveland's pending acquisition of Amare Stoudemire from Phoenix, it appeared the Cavs' interest in Troy Murphy was no more. But with a few other teams jumping in to try to poach Stoudemire, there are reports the Cavs' Plan B is to focus on Murphy if the deal with the Suns falls through.
One new rumor surfaced over the weekend when ESPN.com's Chad Ford wrote that the Lakers, seeking depth at point guard, might make a play for Earl Watson.
The trade deadline's two days away, so stay tuned.
Ford represented Pacers in Dallas
Turns out, the Pacers weren't completely shut out of the All-Star weekend festivities in Dallas.
T.J. Ford conducted a youth basketball clinic on the T-Mobile court during the Jam Session presented by Adidas on Friday.
In his role as the Pacers' union rep, Ford, also attended the National Basketball Players Association meeting in Dallas as talks between the league and the players on a new labor deal heat up.
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