| PACERS | vs. | NETS |
 T.J. Ford |
Point Guard |
 Devin Harris |
 Dahntay Jones |
Shooting Guard |
 Courtney Lee |
 Brandon Rush |
Small Forward |
 C. Douglas-Roberts |
 Troy Murphy |
Power Forward |
 Josh Boone |
 Roy Hibbert |
Center |  Brook Lopez |
 Mike Dunleavy |
Sixth Man |
 Rafer Alston |
 Jim O'Brien |
Coach |  Kiki Vandeweghe |
By Conrad Brunner | Dec. 10, 2009
When last the Pacers met the Nets, New Jersey was desperate, still looking for its first victory, while Indiana was riding high. The Pacers extended their winning streak to five games with a 91-83 victory at IZOD Center on Nov. 17, dropping the Nets to 0-11.
When the teams reconvene Friday in Conseco Fieldhouse (7 p.m., Fox Sports Indiana, 1070 The Fan), the roles won't quite have been reversed but they definitely have changed. The Pacers (6-13) have won just once since that game, dropping 10 of 11 and the last six in a row. They also lost leading scorer Danny Granger for at least a month with a foot injury.
After setting an NBA record by opening the season with 18 consecutive losses, the Nets have gotten healthier, regaining the services of star point guard Devin Harris as well as Courtney Lee and have won two of their last four games, which means the Pacers face "a considerably bigger challenge" this time around, said Coach Jim O'Brien.
"Everybody knew when they were struggling through that losing streak that one of the main reasons they were struggling was because Devin Harris was not playing and he's one of the best point guards I think in the East," O'Brien said. "So you take one of the top-flight point guards out of the situation, it's going to be difficult for them to play. Put Lee in there, and he's had some big games last year and big games this year, and that gives them not only good guys to start with but that gives them very good depth.
"(Brook) Lopez has put up some very significant numbers and (Chris) Douglas-Roberts has put up some big numbers so now all of a sudden you have guys healthy and you have depth with guys that have succeeded. So they're a much different basketball team."
Lopez had 26 points and 15 rebounds against the Pacers, while Douglas-Roberts had 27 points and 12 rebounds.
TRENDS
In his first appearance since Nov. 22, rookie point guard A.J. Price played a season-high 16 minutes and produced four points, three rebounds and two assists Wednesday against Portland. … First-round pick Tyler Hansbrough had the first double-double of his career (13 points, 11 rebounds). In five games in which he has played at least 20 minutes, Hansbrough has averaged 9.2 points and 5.4 rebounds. … T.J. Ford is 0-of-17 from the 3-point line this season. … In the last four games, Ford has averaged 5.3 points on 7-of-24 shooting (.292) with 11 assists and 10 turnovers. … Mike Dunleavy is 5-of-21 (.238) from the 3-point line. … The Pacers haven't led in the second half in their last three games. … Indiana is 1-12 when Troy Murphy has played. … The offense has averaged 83.3 points, .397 shooting overall and .246 from the 3-point line in the last three. … The Pacers rank 21st in scoring (96.7), 29th in field goal percentage (.430) and 27th in 3-point percentage (.298).KEY MATCHUP
Harris' return makes a huge difference in the Nets because of his combination of size, speed and ability to get to the basket seemingly at will. He also is a disruptive force, defensively, ranking seventh in the league in steals (2.08). Harris has not shot the ball well yet (.354 overall, .195 from the 3-point line) so the Pacers point guards likely will leave him space to take the jumper in order to try to cut off his driving lanes. That's tough to do because Harris also is among the best point guards in the league at getting inside and drawing fouls.SERIES
After winning the first meeting between the teams this season, the Pacers lead 80-64 overall and are 50-22 in Indianapolis.INJURIES
Pacers -- Danny Granger (foot) and Travis Diener (toe) are out.Nets -- Jarvis Hayes (hamstring), Eduardo Najera (back) and Yi Jianlian (lip laceration) are out.
