O'Brien remains unhappy with his lineup

MIAMI -- Indiana Pacers coach Jim O'Brien is going to run out of options with his starting lineup with all the tinkering he's doing.

Until he reaches that point, though, O'Brien plans to continue to try to find the right mix of players.

He is considering shaking up the lineup again after his starters were thoroughly outplayed for the second straight game in their 114-80 loss to the Miami Heat.

"I don't know if we have enough speed in our starting lineup," O'Brien said. "Clearly we are not getting it done. The last couple of games, we have not scored well. We did a good job with that unit to start out the previous three games, but right now it's not working. We need to continue to re-evaluate everything."

The Pacers' starters have been outscored 160-61 in the past two games. The second unit made the game respectable in the second quarter each of the past two nights.

"We can't be playing the way we've been playing in the first unit," starting point guard Earl Watson said. "We have to come out and we have to have a style of play. We have to have a personality. We have to have characteristics. We have to set the tone.

"The second unit played great, but no matter what, we have to get both units to play at the same time at a high level in order for us to compete and win."
A step forward for Granger

Pacers forward Danny Granger took a step, albeit a small one, toward his return from a torn right plantar fascia when he did some light shooting on the court for the first time Saturday.

"It was decent. I haven't really pushed it yet because I don't think I'm at that point yet," Granger said. "The foot is still healing. Each day I try to do more and more on it."

The real test for Granger will come when he starts running. A date for that has yet to be determined.

It has almost been three weeks since the Pacers shut down Granger for at least a month. The team said he could be out up to six weeks.

"There's no chance I'll be out for the full the six weeks," Granger said. "I'm thinking about another two to three weeks."
O'Neal burns former team again

Make it 2-for-2 in good games for Heat center Jermaine O'Neal against his former team this season.

O'Neal, who spent eight seasons with the Pacers, scored 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting and had six rebounds in 19 minutes Sunday. That effort followed a 22-point, 12-rebound performance against them in October.

"It doesn't mean anything," O'Neal said. "When I went into their place, I wanted to have a good game. Not because I was upset . . . I wanted to have a good game for the people that really supported me."

O'Neal said he knew he would be featured in the offense because the Heat thought he had the advantage against Pacers center Roy Hibbert.

"We're a team that goes with the matchups offensively," O'Neal said. "We like to exploit the matchups, and tonight was my night."