I’m beginning to wonder if head coach Jim O’Brien really knows what he’s doing. He is starting to cut 24-year old center Roy Hibbert’s minutes for some ungodly reason. In his last 5 games, Hibbert is averaging 23.4 minutes, 10.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Hibbert has now played in 32 games (31 starts) overall this year and he is averaging 28.7 minutes, 13.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists per game and 1.8 blocked shots per game. If the Pacers ever put Roy Hibbert on the trading block maybe they would finally see what they really have in him. It’s beyond dumb to have Hibbert not playing at least 30 minutes per night as he is a legit 7-foot center with talent at both ends of the court.

The Pacers choked in the 4th quarter last night as they were outscored 24-14. Darren Collison led the way for the Pacers last night with 19 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 5 steals and 1 blocked shot. Danny Granger only shot 6 of 17 from the floor but he somehow still finished up with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Roy Hibbert was his usual tough self inside with 14 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 blocked shots. Paul George (10 points) and Mike Dunleavy (11 points) also pitched in for the Pacers last night. The Pacers are now 2-3 on the year.

Shooting guard Brandon Rush is going to miss the first five games of the 2010-11 season due to a league suspension. This could cost him his starting job if Mike Dunleavy plays at a high level in the first 5 games of the year. The Pacers won’t miss Rush probably at all as they have Dahntay Jones behind Dunleavy. When Rush does come back he better be on his best behavior if he wants to get his starting job back.

The Pacers have acquired 22-year old point guard Darren Collison and 33-year old small forward James Posey from the Hornets and they have sent 30-year old power forward Troy Murphy to the Nets as there part of a 4-team, 5-player trade. The Rockets have acquired SG Courtney Lee from the Nets and the Hornets have acquired SG/SF Trevor Ariza from the Rockets to complete this deal. The Pacers are excited as hell to finally get their hands on a great young point guard like Darren Collison. Collison played in 76 games (37 starts) for the Hornets as a rookie last season and he averaged 27.8 minutes, 12.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He is a good shooter from anywhere on the floor as he hit 47.7% from the floor, 40% from three point range and 85.1% from the free throw line as a rookie. The sky is the limit for Collison as I wouldn’t be shocked if he averaged 20+ points and 10+ assists in 2010-11 for the Pacers. James Posey was included in the deal to even out the money. He will help the Pacers off the bench for the next couple of years. Posey played in 77 games (2 starts) for the Hornets last season and he averaged 22.5 minutes, 5.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He has now played in 815 games (479 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 27.5 minutes, 8.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The Pacers will likely miss Murphy as he is a solid power forward. Murphy played in 72 games (69 starts) last season for the Pacers and he averaged 32.6 minutes, 14.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He played in 262 games (234 starts) in his four years with the Pacers and he has averaged 31.0 minutes, 13.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. The Pacers will be hoping that Tyler Hansbrough steps up to replace Murphy at power forward. I like this trade for the Pacers as Darren Collison will make all the rest of the Pacers better players in 2010-11 and beyond.

The Indiana Pacers would probably like to rebuild but they need to get rid of some higher priced players for that to happen. T.J. Ford, Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, Dahntay Jones and Jeff Foster can all be had this summer. I’m not so sure that the Pacers would require a lot back for any of them except Murphy. The Pacers want to get younger building the team around Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert, Tyler Hansbrough, Brandon Rush, Paul George, Lance Stephenson and Magnum Rolle. I don’t see the Pacers looking to spend a lot on free agents but they might look for a starting caliber point guard. Shaun Livingston, Steve Blake and Nate Robinson will likely be on their radar this summer as they are all free agents.