The light has come on. You can see it in a hundred different ways, see it in the way Jamaal Tinsley passes over the defense and ahead to a streaking, dunking Jermaine O'Neal, see it in the way Al Harrington comes off the bench oozing confidence and energy.

It has happened quietly, happened under the radar of both the local and national media, but the Indiana Pacers are having the kind of sudden growth spurt that makes them a sudden contender to come out of the Eastern Conference.