Indiana Pacers

Starting Five		Player Rating
C	Jeff Foster	6
PF	Jermaine O'Neal	8
SF	Ron Artest	8
SG	Reggie Miller	7
PG	Jamaal Tinsley	6
		35

* Player Rating on a 1 to 10 Scale. 10 denotes best at position in the NBA with no weaknesses, 5 would be average player who holds his own etc.

Reserves		Position Rating
C	Scott Pollard / David Harrison	4
PF	Austin Croshere	6
SF	Jonathan Bender	7
SG	Stephen Jackson / Fred Jones	8
PG	Anthony Johnson	6
		31

* Ratings based on ability of bench to fill in a position. More than one backup at a position would influence the rating as would one player's ability to play multiple positions.

Sep '04
The Pacers won the most games in the league last year and return this year with a more mature, better prepared and more balanced roster. So if Artest can keep his head on his shoulders and Bird doesn't trade him, they should be looking at 60 wins again.

On the other hand, a team with Stephen Jackson and Ron Artest is bound to have some issues. Also, its time for Tinsley to step up or Bird will start looking elsewhere.

There isn't too much beef on the team either, with Pollard not contributing at all. They would love to move him and Croshere too, but no one is biting. New big Harrison hinted at promise but is more likely to contribute next year than this. Still not enough to get past Detroit.