- Roy Hibbert is back! Amazing what a difference a day makes. In his first game without Jim O'Brien to terrorize his psyche, Big Roy played like a man reborn, posting 24 points, 11 rebounds, an assist, two steals, and two blocks. Perhaps even more notably, he took 19 shots--his third highest total on the season--and connected on nine of them. That's 47%, which may not be earth shattering, but it is an important detail given that he was shooting 37% in January entering the game. Talk about "Don't let the door hit O'Brien's...."
- Josh McRoberts played 33 minutes, and Tyler Hansbrough played 15 minutes. This one is misleading, though, as Hansbrough is recovering from walking pneumonia. It will be an interesting situation to watch, as both are young players with upside. The edge goes to Hansbrough, because Larry Bird made it clear at yesterday's press conference that he wants to see Hansbrough play more. That could have a lot to do with the fact that the Pacers invested the 13th pick in the 2009 draft on the North Carolina star. Certainly, the Tar Heel got the better of the Blue Devil tonight, as Hansbrough tallied 14 points and six boards in his limited minutes, while McRoberts managed just four points and six boards in twice the time. Still, don't sleep on McBob; he's shown that he can provide a rare combination of threes, boards, and blocks when he's on.
- Mike Dunleavy and Paul George each played roughly 25 minutes. George won this battle, notching 16 points, a three pointer, four rebounds, an assist, a steal, and two blocks. Dunleavy finished with eight points, two threes, three rebounds, and two steals (no assists or blocks). Where George stood out most, though, was in plus/minus, where his team-best +16 contrasted starkly with Dunleavy's team-worst -3. George, the 10th pick in the 2010 draft, is one of the youngsters that Bird wants to see play, so you can expect his playing time to surpass Dunleavy's in the near future. Of course, keep in mind that Brandon Rush will also be in the mix when he returns from a sprained ankle in a couple of weeks.
- Lance Stephenson was DNP-CD yet again. Bird mentioned Stephenson as one of the kids he wants to see on the court, but apparently the Pacers aren't in that big of a rush to trot the rookie point guard out there. Stephenson will make his debut before long, but don't count on him having fantasy value this year...especially with fellow youngster Darren Collison firmly entrenched as the floor general.
There's still much left to play out, but at least we saw the positive effects of O'Brien's departure on Hibbert.
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