He got his long-time wish when Coach Rick Carlisle moved him into the starting lineup at point guard for the Pacers' game in Portland on March 4, and he responded with 23 points and eight assists in a victory. He followed that up with 18 points and five assists in Los Angeles; though the Pacers lost to the Lakers, it seemed they'd found a new type of weapon at the point.

But Jones took ill the next day, was removed from the lineup and has been only a shell of himself in the four games since, averaging 4.3 points on 6-of-23 shooting. Anthony Johnson, meanwhile, has regained a strong grip on the point guard spot, averaging 13.0 points and 7.0 assists since his return to the lineup.

Carlisle

"Fred Jones wasn't going to just get it back overnight," said Carlisle. "When you're ill for a couple of games, it takes awhile. He's starting to show signs of being back to himself but the thing that gets it done is playing hard in practice, doing extra work after practice, then you can build yourself back up and be ready to play at the highest possible level. It's been tough for him the last 10 days."

After scoring nine points and pulling four rebounds off the bench against Utah Wednesday night, Jones stayed late after practice Thursday for an extra hour of full-speed work with the coaches. He believes he's close to returning to form as the Pacers head into a rematch with the Lakers Friday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.

"These past couple of weeks have been really tough for me, trying to fight this sickness and get back into the groove," Jones said. "I've just been out of the groove and lost a lot of my momentum and there's a little lack of confidence at the moment, not playing the way I want to play.

Jones

"I'm fighting through that right now, trying to break that wall down. As soon as I get through that, I'll be right back to normal and contributing. I've just got to get my legs all the way back, my energy back. Once I get those things back, I'll get my confidence back."

With Jermaine O'Neal out indefinitely, the Pacers need all the offensive punch they can get and Jones has stepped forward before when called upon. He's averaging 10.8 points on the season. In 13 starts, he has averaged 16.1 points. He leads the team in games (61) and minutes played (1,897).

"He's an essential part of our team right now, without question," Carlisle said. "He leads our team in total minutes played, so that tells you something about his importance to us over this season. Whether we're playing a playoff-caliber team or a sub-.500 team, you have to have all your weapons ready to play at a high level.

"We've been fortunate to win a couple of these games without him playing his best because of his illness. Right now, the opportunity to get him back into the mix at full strength is important."

Jones shrugs off any pressure he may feel to help compensate for O'Neal's lost offense.

"We definitely need everybody," he said. "The only thing we can do right now is have everybody play their best."