| PACERS | vs. | WIZARDS |
 T.J. Ford |
Point Guard |
 G. Arenas |
 B. Rush |
Shooting Guard |
 R. Foye |
 D. Jones |
Small Forward |
 C. Butler |
 D. Granger |
Power Forward |
 F. Oberto |
 R. Hibbert |
Center |  B. Haywood |
 E. Watson |
Sixth Man |
 A. Blatche |
 J. O'Brien |
Coach |  F. Saunders |
By Conrad Brunner | Nov. 5, 2009
| Friday's Game |
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7 p.m., Home TV: FSN-Indiana Radio: 1070 The Fan Buy tickets |
Tyler Hansbrough is expected to play for the first time tonight, albeit on a limited basis, after missing all of training camp, the preseason and the first four regular-season games rehabbing a stress reaction in his right shin that dates back to his senior season at North Carolina.
"If he comes in (Friday) morning and has reacted well to what he did today, he'll get some minutes," Jim O'Brien said after practice Thursday.
The coach has cautioned fans to have modest expectations of the first-round pick from North Carolina, at least initially. He will be limited to no more than 15 minutes and is new to the system, his teammates and the league.
"I legitimately have no expectations," O'Brien said. "I expect him to play hard. I guess my expectation is that he knows the plays and he knows the defensive schemes and plays hard. That's a good combination to have."
Hansbrough called his participation "a game-time decision" and, like O'Brien, isn't sure what to expect.
"I would like to turn it all loose but when you're a young guy like me, a rookie coming in, you just want to get out there and help out the team and not try to do anything spectacular," he said. "I just want to help our team, play our game and stay in the flow of things."
Hansbrough has just three weeks of practice after missing three months but doesn't think he's too far behind in terms of comprehension of the system.
"I think I'm catching up quick," he said. "I put a lot of time in with assistant coaches trying to learn the plays and Coach O'Brien is teaching me little things.
"I don't think I'm far behind, there's just some little things they're catching me up on, things like that. It's true for anyone that's just stepped into this program. Not everyone just comes in here right away and has a feel. It takes awhile."
Melvin Simon honored as part of 10th anniversary events
A banner will be raised in tribute to Melvin Simon, the franchise co-owner who passed away on Sept. 16, in a special pre-game ceremony. It will be just the second banner raised since Conseco Fieldhouse opened (Reggie Miller's was the other) and will be the sixth in franchise history (joining Miller, Mel Daniels, George McGinnis, Roger Brown, and Bobby Leonard).In addition, fans will receive a souvenir poster and a special ticket commemorating the anniversary, and there will be a pre-game autograph session featuring members of the Pacers' 2000 NBA Finals team and the Fever's 2009 WNBA Finals team.
Both teams battling injuries
Troy Murphy(bruised lower back) did not practice Thursday and isn't expected to play Friday. Neither is Jeff Foster, expected to miss at least 10 more days with a high ankle sprain. Mike Dunleavy(knee) and Travis Diener(toe) also are out.The Wizards are without Mike Miller, out 7-10 days after spraining his left shoulder Wednesday against Miami, and Antawn Jamison, who injured his right shoulder in the preseason and is expected to miss two more weeks.
Fast breaks …
