It appears as though the Pacers will miss the playoffs for the third straight year, but coach Jim O'Brien isn't going to hand out minutes to the team's younger players.

"I'm playing guys that deserve to be on the court. That's the way I'm going about doing it," O'Brien said. "My job is to win basketball games, and I think the best message you can send anybody, young guys, is earn your minutes. Earn your minutes in practice and with what you do in the game and then you get on the court."

Indiana has lost four straight games, but young guys like Josh McRoberts and Stephen Graham will still have to earn playing time.

"Nothing is given in the NBA," O'Brien said. "I could never send a message to the other guys on the team that I'm preparing them without giving us our best chance of winning."