Hansbrough's problem

Forward Tyler Hansbrough's practice days usually consist of some strength and agility drills with the team's strength and conditioning staff. Then, after his teammates have left, the Indiana Pacers' first-round pick will take the court for some individual work with an assistant coach.

That's not what the Pacers envisioned when they selected Hansbrough with the No. 13 pick in last summer's draft.

Not with 35 games remaining in the season.

They expected Hansbrough to be a high-energy player off the bench for them.

So much for wishful thinking.

Hansbrough's latest setback -- an inner ear infection -- has left the former University of North Carolina All-American sidelined for 14 of the past 18 games, and the team is not putting a target date on his return.

"It's a major setback for us," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "To have a guy that we drafted in the lottery only get just a tad over 500 minutes to this point in time is not what we had in mind and it's not what he had in mind. Not only is he injured and missing games, he never got training camp and by not getting training camp, that is significant."

Hansbrough came down with the inner ear infection in late December. He returned for four games but had to sit back down because of constant dizziness.

"That's when I realized it was more difficult than I planned," Hansbrough said. "This is the first time I've had an inner ear infection. To be honest, I've been pretty much injury free until this year. It's frustrating. It's the dizziness that's keeping me out."

A medical official said there's no test done to diagnose an inner ear infection. He said it becomes clearer to diagnose over time based on the symptoms, which include constant dizziness.

The infection can take months for some people to overcome because it goes away on its own and there's not really a medication given to cure it.

"The fact that I'm not taking part in any contact drills tells you where I'm at with things," said Hansbrough, who has not been flying with the team on the road. "I'm not putting a timetable on my return. We'll see when things start to clear up. If you're off balance, you put yourself at risk of getting hit."

The ear infection is just the latest setback for Hansbrough, who looked like he was headed for a promising rookie season after a strong summer league showing.

He missed all of training camp and the first four games of the season with a shin problem.

Hansbrough is averaging 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in 29 games.

His high-octane motor hasn't gone unnoticed by other players around the league.

Former Pacer Stephen Jackson said in an SI.com article earlier this season that Hansbrough "needs to be playing rugby or something."

O'Brien said it's going to take time for Hansbrough to find a rhythm once he finally returns to the lineup.

"Everybody is playing at such a high level," O'Brien said. "The offenses and the defense are refined. People are more tied in together, so from a standpoint of being able to find minutes for him, trying to win every basketball game, that's a puzzle that we're going to have to figure out."

The Pacers (16-31)

Pos.	Player	PPG	Key stat
PG	Earl Watson	7.1	4.4 ast.
SG	Brandon Rush	8.5	4.2 reb.
SF	Dahntay Jones	11.6	3.2 reb.
PF	Danny Granger	22.9	5.7 reb.
C	Roy Hibbert	11.0	5.7 reb.

The Raptors (25-22)

Pos.	Player	PPG	Key stat
PG	Jarrett Jack	10.5	4.6 ast.
SG	Sonny Weems	5.1	2.1 reb.
SF	Hedo Turkoglu	12.6	4.6 ast.
PF	Chris Bosh	24.0	11.3 reb.
C	Andrea Bargnani	17.2