Rookie center Roy Hibbert has struggled at times this season, but wants to develop into a go-to player for the Pacers.

"We have great shooters on this team from Danny (Granger) and (Troy) Murphy all the way down," Hibbert told the Indianapolis Star. "They're able to hit shots, but if they're not hitting from the outside, I want to be that presence that they can throw the ball down to."

Indiana, even when they had a hobbled Jermaine O'Neal, has lacked a viable interior threat recently.

"I think that's the next step for us, honestly," Granger said. "You have to have a good low-post presence. You can have good wings and good point guard play, but if you don't have a low-post presence, it's hard to be a contender in the league. Roy is going to help us a lot."

If his right wrist doesn't improve soon, Pacers swingman Marquis Daniels could opt to shut himself down for the season's final eight games.

"I just like playing basketball too much," Daniels said. "I've got to talk to my agent and the coaches on if I should try to come back or let it heal so I don't have to mess with it during the summer."

Daniels has missed the team's last five games, and originally injured the wrist against the Blazers on March 4th.

"I've got like four different sprains in it," Daniels said. "I tried to play through it, but it was hurting so bad I had to stop and sit out."

After seeing Bulls' guard John Salmons put on another strong show against his Pacers on Saturday, coach Jim O'Brien had nothing but praise for the ex-King.

?The best trade of the year,? Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said, referring to the deal which saw Andres Nocioni and Drew Gooden go to Sacramento for Salmons and Brad Miller.

According to the Associated Press, Salmons hit four of seven 3-pointers - including two late with the game in the balance - and reached the 20-point mark for the 11th time since the trade.

The Pacers were effectively eliminated from the playoff race after their loss to the Bulls on Saturday afternoon, but they claim they'll continue to play hard.

"They pay us to play 82 games, not until you're out of playoff contention," guard Jarrett Jack said. "We have to go out there no matter what and play with pride and be professional."

Indiana is 5 1/2 games behind Chicago for the eighth, and final, playoff berth with just nine games left in the regular season.

Pacers forward Troy Murphy had an MRI on his sprained left knee on Thursday, which revealed no major damage.

Murphy sprained a ligament in the knee during Wednesday's shootaround and didn't play against Miami that night, or against Chicago on Saturday afternoon.

Indiana coach Jim O'Brien called the sprain "very painful."

All-Star forward Danny Granger has topped the 30-point mark 17 times this season, but he'd much rather enjoy a victory than lead the Pacers in scoring.

"It's not about what I did," Granger said. "I didn't want to say anything that would get me in trouble. I could (not) care less about scoring the points. It makes me more mad if I score a lot and we lose. It's been a tough year for us."

Granger is sixth in the league in scoring at 24.8 points per game, but the Pacers have a losing record and will likely miss the playoffs for the third straight season.

"Making the All-Star team was one of my goals when the season started," Granger said. "But I don't want to hear about being an All-Star anymore. It's done now. It's about the success of the team. No one looks at if you were an All-Star. They look at how successful you've been as a team. We haven't been successful."

For the second season in a row, and on a different team, point guard T.J. Ford has lost his grip on the job of starting point guard.

Ford was replaced by Jose Calderon in Toronto last season, and Jarrett Jack started at the point for Indiana on Saturday night.

"I know how to handle this situation better than I did in the past," said Ford. "It's not a big issue to me. Just do what you're supposed to do, whether they put you in the game or not. It's your job to be ready and be prepared for whatever happens.

"I'm not a person that asks questions or reasons why certain things happen. He's the coach and he has the right to make whatever adjustments he wants."

Indiana guards T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack had to be separated during Friday's loss to Dallas, and the incident may have been a long time coming.

The argument, which came after Ford attempted shots on three straight possessions, ended with Pacers coach Jim O'Brien sending Jack to the locker room and benching Ford for more than 12 minutes of game action.

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reported on Saturday morning that the situation had been "brewing" for some time between the pair.

Pacers guards T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack had to be separated during a timeout midway through the third quarter against the Mavericks on Friday night.

The argument began on the court, and the two players had to be separated and teammates attempted to calm Jack down.

Indiana coach Jim O'Brien sent Jack back to the locker room, and momentarily bench Ford after the incident.

"We had a situation where Jarrett and T.J. had a dispute on the court," O'Brien said. "I subbed for them and didn't want to carry it over. I asked Jarrett to take the rest of the night off. That was my decision."

Jack left Conseco Fieldhouse before the media was allowed to enter the locker room after Indiana's loss to Dallas, but O'Brien says that he'll be active for Saturday's game against Charlotte.

"I think it was the heat of the moment," Ford said. "At the end of the day you really don't want the fans to see that going on, especially during the game when you have kids. I want to apologize for my actions and what took place."

It appears as though the Pacers will miss the playoffs for the third straight year, but coach Jim O'Brien isn't going to hand out minutes to the team's younger players.

"I'm playing guys that deserve to be on the court. That's the way I'm going about doing it," O'Brien said. "My job is to win basketball games, and I think the best message you can send anybody, young guys, is earn your minutes. Earn your minutes in practice and with what you do in the game and then you get on the court."

Indiana has lost four straight games, but young guys like Josh McRoberts and Stephen Graham will still have to earn playing time.

"Nothing is given in the NBA," O'Brien said. "I could never send a message to the other guys on the team that I'm preparing them without giving us our best chance of winning."