They may only be 12-13 after the trade with the Chicago Bulls, but Indiana coach Isiah Thomas remains upbeat about his side and the obstacles they have overcome in their bid to make this year?s playoffs.  The Pacers remain one game behind both Toronto and Milwaukee, the latter of whom is free-falling, for the eighth place in the East.

''If we make the playoffs, it will be a remarkable accomplishment for this team, considering who they are and what they've gone through,'' Thomas said. ''You're asking the youngest team in the league to make the playoffs without possibly their second-best player in [injured] Al Harrington, but with a major midseason trade and a rookie point guard [Jamaal Tinsley]. Most coaches in this situation would be happy with 40-plus wins. Meantime, most young teams aren't being asked to make the playoffs. My job is to motivate and inspire my players and protect them from the public. I'm not going to push them so hard that I break them. ?

''We're in the race, and it's good to be in the race. Right now, we're having a hard time understanding and maintaining momentum. That just comes with the experience and maturation of playing together. I can't say I'm disappointed. I thought that at this stage of the game, we'd be a lot smarter than we've been. But brains and experience are just things you can't rush. They come when they come. Meantime, I'm going to protect my players from being forced to do too much too soon.''

''When it's all said and done, this will be a win-win trade,'' Thomas said after the deal was made. ''It's good when those types of trades happen. It's good for [Bulls operations chief Jerry] Krause and it's good for [Pacers president] Donnie [Walsh]. Hopefully, those guys will want to do business again. We needed defense and rebounding. Chicago needed scoring. Jalen will be able to score there. We'll be a better defensive and rebounding team.''