Terrance Jerod is back in town. (via nytimes.com)

Pacers (7-15, 2-10 road) @ Bucks (9-15, 5-4 home)

Gametime: 7:30 p.m. central time

Injuries:

Pacers: Travis Diener (foot) has missed four straight games.

Bucks: Malik Allen (ribs) has missed two straight games. Charlie Bell (ankle) has missed six straight games.

07/08 Series:

Jan. 24: @Bucks 104 Pacers 92

March 2: @Pacers 128 Bucks 106

April 4: Pacers 105 @Bucks 101

08/09 Advanced Stats:

Pacers: Offense: 22nd (103.5 points/100 possessions) Defense:  15th (106.5)  Pace: 4th (95.2)

Bucks: Offense: 26th (102.7 points/100 possessions) Defense:  14th (106.4) Pace:  12th (92.2)

Three points:

• S.O.S. Not Morse code distress signals, but strength of schedule. Indiana has the most difficult strength of schedule (.575) in the NBA so far this season. The Bucks (.533) have played the fourth most difficult schedule, and a couple more road games than the Pacers. Indiana might be happy to play Milwaukee after their December sked thus far: Lakers, @Celtics, Cavaliers, Celtics, @Raptors, @Pistons. Then again, they might not be so happy to see the Bucks; the Pacers play far better against good teams than bad ones and far better at home than on the road. They have slayed the Celtics and Lakers at Conseco. Yet they are just 2-10 on the road, though Indy did top the Rockets in Houston.
• Central problem. Last season, the Bucks (6-10) and Pacers (5-11) struggled badly against division foes. So far this year, they are even worse; the Bucks are 1-4 and the Pacers are 0-5.
  
• GRANGERMAN. Mo Williams isn't the only former Buck starting at point guard in the Bucks' division. T.J. Ford joined the Pacers this offseason in a trade with Toronto for Jermaine O'Neal, and he's doing quite alright. But the brightest star in the Hoosier state is Danny Granger, the small forward who dropped 42/7/6 (and six turnovers) in a 114-110 loss to Detroit last night. Granger is just another excellent small forward in the East. Richard Jefferson and the Bucks have faced Gerald Wallace, Luol Deng, LeBron James, Tayshaun Prince, and Hedo Turkoglu -- all in the last two and a half weeks. And that list doesn't include Josh Smith, who was out when the Bucks played in Atlanta. Okay, so Granger isn't just another small forward in the East. I'll let Skeets take it from here.

  Ball Don't Lie: You're big into superheroes. I read that you actually want to build a hidden cave in your house like Batman.

  Danny Granger: Yeah ... (Laughs) I'm building a house in New Mexico and actually the builder called me and told me he found a nice little feature, a lift for my car, kind of like Batman had. It's in the works, it's a process. [The Superhero stuff] is just a big thing I've been a part of. I love Superman, love Batman. It's just the way I've been always.

Coverage:

Bucks.com / Indy Cornrows