With the recent injury to guard Fred Jones, the Pacers have been forced to speed up the return of starting point guard Jamaal Tinsley, the Indianapolis Star is reporting.

The plan was to work Tinsley back into the rotation slowly, but with Jones tearing a ligament in his left thumb in the Knicks games that plan was thrown out the window.

"I thought he played well in the Houston game and he did some good things in the New York game," Carlisle said. "He's going to be an important guy for us with Freddie out."
Tinsley will continue to come off the bench, but he likely will play more than expected because Sarunas Jasikevicius will play some as Stephen Jackson's backup at shooting guard.