Losing to the Lakers without Kobe (well, 12 minutes of ineffective Kobe) and Pau Gasol -- at home, mind you -- has to equal the Pacers' worst loss of the season. Even worse than the Miami game a few nights ago.

When I heard Kobe was going to play, I actually thought it would be a good thing for the Pacers. Surely he would not be 100% and might try to do too much, which would play right into the Pacers' hands. Unfortunately, he played just 12 scoreless minutes and realized he couldn't go on, and sat out the rest of the game.

Rather than folding, however, the Lakers just caught fire from downtown and could not miss. Steve Blake and Antawn Jamison combined for 9-14 from the outside, and Metta World Peace outhustled and frustrated Paul George. Dwight Howard got the Pacers big guys in trouble early and often. Lance Stephenson contributed to a lot of wild, out of control plays, many of which turned into turnovers. Even though there were some questionable calls in favor of the Lakers, the Pacers absolutely deserved to lose this one. 

It was just horrible, and I worry the Pacers might be heading in the wrong direction at a key stretch of the season. Road games against Philly and Cleveland coming up, then home games against the Magic and Bucks. The Pacers need to win all four.

At least the Indiana Pacers can beat the bad teams. After getting thumped by the Heat, the Pacers returned home to Bankers Life Fieldhouse and put together an easy 107-91 victory.

This win, the Pacers' 40th of the season, was one of those where the starters were killing the opponents but the bench was killing the team -- at least in the first half. Roy Hibbert had his best game of the season by far with 27 and 12 on 10-15 shooting to go with 4 blocks in 34 minutes.

Paul George had 17, David West 13, George Hill 16 and Orlando Johnson 12.

Great win, but it won't mean all that much if they can't hold fort against the incoming Lakers next game.

I am firmly of the belief that the Indiana Pacers are better team now than the team they were when they twice beat the Miami Heat earlier this season. The problem is, this current Heat team is playing out of their minds. Combine that with home court for the Heat and a thirst for revenge -- the Pacers simply had no chance.

Final score, 105-91, and the Pacers never got very close after the Heat finished off with a flurry to lead by 10 at the half.

The Pacers' strategy appeared to be to contain Lebron James and let everyone else beat them. They kept Lebron to a season low 13 points, but boy, the other guys REALLY stepped up. Mario Chalmers had 26, Christ Bosh 24 and Dwyane Wade 23. As for the Pacers, apart from David West, who had 24, no one else was effective.

This was a game that put the Pacers back in their rightful place -- very very far behind the Miami Heat. That said, the Pacers are probably still the second best team in the East, and that can't be a bad thing at this stage of the season. With some luck, they are still the team in the East with the best chance of causing an upset against the defending champs, even if that chance is, as of now, barely above zero.

Next up, the Timberwolves at home, followed by a date with another streaking team -- the LA Lakers.

No need to say too much except that the Pacers crushed the Magic 115-86 in Orlando, avenging an embarrassing loss earlier in the season. It was a good bounceback win for the Pacers after choking the previous game away against the Celtics, and sets them up nicely for a HUGE showdown with the Heat.

For those who aren't in the loop, the Pacers have beaten the Heat handedly twice already this season, though both of those games came in Indiana, where the Pacers are significantly better than they are on the road. Plus the Heat are on a record winning-streak after winning their 17th straight today, and Lebron James is playing out of his mind.

So yeah, another good measuring stick for the Pacers. You have to admit, with the way things are going that their chances aren't great against this Heat team, but that's what makes Sunday's game so interesting. No team has challenged the Heat quite like the Pacers this season, and if they win it'll give them a clean sweep and some much-needed confidence heading into the playoffs, where a potential conference finals matchup looms.

What do the Pacers have going for them? Well, for starters, they are no longer getting blown out by good teams. They are sticking with every team these days even in the losses, and when they play bad teams they no longer play down to their level but instead dominate like we saw tonight against the Magic. That is a sign of progress.

They were also dismal on the road earlier in the season but it appears they are turning that around as well. They shot over 51% today against the Magic and nearly 49% against the Raptors in their last two road games, both victories. Granted, these are bad teams, but at least the Pacers are hitting their open shots on the road now, unlike before.

Danny Granger, by the way, has been shelved for another week, and I think it is safe to assume that he won't be 100% this season, if ever. It'll be nice to have him back even at 75% for the playoffs, but for now I think it's best if they pretend he won't be back and prepare mentally for the road ahead.

As I said, hard to see the Pacers winning in Miami against a Heat team whose last loss came against the Pacers more than a month ago, but if anyone can snap the Heat's winning streak, it's this Pacers team.

This is too depressing so I'm going to keep it short.

The Pacers choked away a 9-point lead in the final minutes of their home game against Boston, giving up the final 11 points to lose 83-81.

A loss is a loss, but what I found interesting is that the Pacers are at least in every game they lose these days. They don't get blown out anymore, which is a great sign compared to how they were earlier in the season.

The last time they were blown out was on Jan. 23 in Portland. Since then, apart from the 8-point loss to the Clippers without Hibbert, their other 5 losses during this period were all either down to the wire or in OT.

I actually think this loss to the Celts was another "good loss" in the sense that it builds mental toughness. The Celtics, even without Rondo, are as tough as they come, and the Pacers can certainly learn from them before the playoffs.