Time to go small is now for Pacers

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The blame can be spread around on why Hibbert isn't effective. He's not taking advantage of the shots he's getting. And the more he misses, the more his teammates become frustrated and hesitant to pass him the ball even when he has deep position in the post.

"That hurts the whole process," Vogel said. "Continuing to get position, it hurts Roy's ability to do something."

The Pacers have the bodies to go small -- and put Hibbert on the bench -- if Vogel chooses to. Center Ian Mahinmi is a quicker defender than Hibbert. Mahinmi is limited offensively. So is Hibbert these days, though, so that tradeoff shouldn't hurt the Pacers. Vogel said Paul George can play either forward position. Why not put him at power forward and West at center? What about using Chris Copeland at power forward? He's a matchup problem at that position. The Pacers know that from when he played against them while with the New York Knicks.

Staying the course hasn't worked for the Pacers the past few months, and there hasn't been any indication it will work. But George is willing to maintain the approach that brought Indiana this far.

"We're just going to stay the course," George said. "We believe in what coach is telling us. We believe in one another. Just do everything a little tougher."