Indiana
Pacers

News: Foster (back) is active for Friday's game vs. the Grizzlies, the Indianapolis Star reports.
Impact: Foster, the backup to All-Star Roy Hibbert, is valued by the Pacers for his defensive intensity and toughness. His contributions aren't usually apparent in the box score, however, limiting his value from a fantasy perspective.

News: Hibbert was named as a reserve on the Eastern Conference All-Star team by coaches, the Indianapolis Star reports.
Impact: More than anything popping out from his statistics is the consistency with which Hibbert is producing for the Pacers this season. It was a rocky few seasons under former head coach Jim O'Brien, but Hibbert has thrived with Frank Vogel in charge.

News: Collison had his four-game run of double-digit scoring snapped Wednesday night when he scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting in Indiana's loss to Atlanta.
Impact: Collison had taken to shooting more since George Hill (ankle) went down five games ago, but deferred to others against the Hawks. He had nine assists, a steal and a blocked shot in the loss.

News: Hibbert had his second straight double-double Wednesday, scoring 10 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in Indiana's loss to Atlanta.
Impact: Unlike last season, there are no obvious stretches of poor production from Hibbert, who is averaging 13.6 points and 9.9 rebounds in 2011-12. Dare we talk about him as a participant in the NBA All-Star Game at the end of the month in Orlando?

News: George was held to five points on 1-of-8 shooting with three turnovers and picked up four fouls in Indiana's loss to Atlanta on Wednesday.
Impact: The Hawks' Joe Johnson took it to George early, scoring nine quick points in the opening quarter and getting the second-year guard into foul trouble. The night spiraled down from there. George, who will be heading to Orlando to take part in the Rising Stars challenge as part of All-Star weekend, has elevated his game from his first to second season in the NBA, but there are still nights when a veteran like Johnson can get the best of him.

News: Collison scored 25 points in the Pacers' 104-99 win over Utah on Tuesday.
Impact: Collison is averaging 11.8 points on the season, but has topped 20 points over the last four games, averaging 17.0 points.

News: Collison erupted for a season-high 25 points Tuesday night in Indiana's win over Utah.
Impact: Collison had his best shooting night of the season, making 10-of-14 from the field while adding five assists and four rebounds in 36 minutes. Since George Hill went down with an ankle injury four games ago, Collison has taken more of an offensive load in the backcourt, having averaged 12.5 shots per games.

News: Hibbert scored 17 points (7-of-13 FG, 3-of-3 FT) and grabbed 10 rebounds Tuesday night in Indiana's win over Utah.
Impact: Hibbert also blocked four shots, giving him 15 blocked shots in the previous five games. It was a nice bounce back game after a troublesome night guarding Orlando's Dwight Howard last Saturday.

News: Stephenson, who suffered a back injury during the first half of Tuesday night's game, returned to action to play 18 minutes in the Pacers' win over the Jazz.
Impact: Stephenson scored eight points on 4-of-7 shooting with two rebounds and one assist in the win.

News: Stephenson suffered a back contusion in the first half against Utah, the Indianapolis Star reports.
Impact: Stephenson was able to return to the game, scoring four points (2-3 FG) to go with an assist and a rebound in 11 minutes during the first half.

News: Foster (back) went through his first full practice in weeks Monday, the Indianapolis Star reports.
Impact: Foster, who has been limited to just five games this season, will have to see how the back responds before he's considered ready to play against Utah on Tuesday.

News: Hill (ankle) discarded the walking boot on his left foot in favor of a regular shoe Saturday, the Indianapolis Star reports.
Impact: It's a small sign that Hill is recovering from a chip fracture in the left ankle. Doctors told him that the fracture is not as bad as originally suspected, though neither the team nor Hill is putting a timetable on his return. The goal is to be back before the All-Star break, which starts Feb. 23.

News: Hansbrough emerged from a lengthy slump Saturday when he scored 17 points off the bench to go with seven rebounds in 20 minutes as Indiana lost to Orlando.
Impact: Hansbrough made 6-of-13 from the field and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe for the Pacers. He also tacked on two steals and an assist to round out his evening. Over the previous 11 games, Hansbrough was mired in a slide in which he averaged 5.8 points (on 32.3 percent shooting) and 4.4 boards in 22.3 minutes.

News: George stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists (versus three turnovers), three steals, and two blocks as Indiana lost at home to Orlando on Saturday.
Impact: Like the rest of his Pacer teammates, George's shot was off against the Magic. He only succeeded on 4-of-12 shots, including two treys on seven attempts from beyond the arc, but he hit all three freebies in 36 minutes for Indiana. No matter how George performed Saturday, he was going to have difficulty matching his record night from Friday when he tallied 30 points, nine boards, seven treys, five assists, and five steals at Dallas.

News: Hansbrough had 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench in Saturday's home loss to the Magic.
Impact: This is just the third time in 12 games that Hansbrough has scored in double figures.

News: Collison had 13 points (5-12 FG, 2-2 FT, 1-1 3Pt), four rebounds, six assists, and one steal against Dallas on Friday.
Impact: Collison had a decent game Friday, coming off Wednesday's season-high 20 points.

News: George lit up the Mavericks for a season-high 30 points Friday night. His magical outing included seven three-pointers, nine rebounds, five assists, five steals, and a blocked shot.
Impact: Wow, that's a LeBron-esque stat line from George. Friday night's game illustrated the wide-ranging skills and athleticism that made him a very popular fantasy sleeper coming into the year. Hopefully he can build off the big week he's had and become a more consistent force for the Pacers, as well as his fantasy owners.

News: Hibbert scored only nine points against the Mavericks on Friday, but was able to rip down 14 boards, dish out three assists, and grab a steal and a block in the win.
Impact: The typically-efficient Hibbert finished 3-of-13 from the floor, but he made solid contributions elsewhere to save his outing.

News: West was a sterling 9-for-11 from the field Friday versus Dallas, finishing with a season-high 20 points.
Impact: Despite the nice output, West's scoring numbers have been way down in his first year in Indiana. He is one of the bigger fantasy disappointments of the early season.

News: Granger scored 16 points and added five rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one blocked shot against Dallas on Friday.
Impact: Granger struggled from the floor in his first game since dropping a season-high 36 Wednesday. He finished 5-for-18, and just 3-of-8 from deep.

News: Hansbrough took just one shot and scored one point in 19 minutes Friday night in Indiana's win over Dallas. Though he is not injured, it was his season-low in playing time.
Impact: What happened to the Hansbrough that had double-digit scoring nights in 10 of the first 12 games? As opponents figured out how to defend him, he has not made the necessary adjustments. In 11 games since that initial 12-game run, Hansbrough is shooting 32.3 percent (20-for-62) from the field and is averaging just 5.8 points per game.

News: Stephenson will serve primarily as a shooting guard while George Hill is out with an ankle injury, the Indianapolis Star reports.
Impact: Hill, who is expected to miss at least three weeks, served as a combo-guard backup when he was healthy, while Stephenson received some token minutes at the point. Going forward, A.J. Price will back up Darren Collison at point guard with Stephenson backing up Paul George.

News: Price will move into the backup point guard role with George Hill (ankle) sidelined for at least three weeks, the Indianapolis Star reports.
Impact: Price has watched a lot of basketball to start the season, while Pacers head coach Frank Vogel has given point-guard minutes to Lance Stephenson. Now, with Hill's injury, Stephenson will slide over to off-guard while Price gets an opportunity to contribute.

News: Granger admitted a scuffle with Minnesota's Kevin Love late in the third quarter triggered his grand finish in Wednesday's win, the Indianapolis Star reports. Granger went on to score 12 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, after Love aggressively grabbed him following a rebound.
Impact: Granger got a technical foul, while Love was called for a personal foul. "Any player who gets into a scuffle it kind of fires them up a little, especially on the road because it's you against everybody else," Granger said. "It worked for me tonight."

News: Hill (ankle) is hoping he'll be out no longer than three weeks, the Indianapolis Star reports.
Impact: The Pacers will get a better idea on how long Hill be out when the team returns to Indianapolis and Hill can be re-evaluated. "It's going to take a couple of days to settle down and then they'll be able to determine a timeline," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said.

News: Collison had 20 points, nine assists and six rebounds in Wednesday's win over Minnesota.
Impact: This was the first time Collison scored 20 points this season.

News: Granger scored 29 of his 36 points in the second half to help the Indiana Pacers blow by the Minnesota Timberwolves, 109-99, on Wednesday night.
Impact: Granger got off to a horrible start to the season, shooting 35 percent in his first 15 games. He has since found a rhythm, hitting nearly 48 percent of his shots in the last five games. He's topped 20 points in each of those games, his longest such streak since March 2010.

News: Collison scored a season-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting with nine assists, six rebounds and two steals in Indiana's win over Minnesota on Wednesday.
Impact: Collison has been hit or miss the last two weeks, but he was on point Wednesday, outplaying the Timberwolves' Ricky Rubio.

News: Price scored two points with three rebounds, one assist and one steal in 15 minutes Wednesday night in Indiana's win over Minnesota.
Impact: Price was given some run Wednesday because George Hill's ankle injury forced him to sit out. It was just the third time in the past 11 games in which Price has played, though he should get regular run as the backup point guard with Hill sidelined indefinitely.

News: With George Hill (ankle) unavailable, Stephenson picked up some extra minutes in Indiana's win over Minnesota.
Impact: Stephenson didn't do much with the opportunity, going scoreless with three turnovers in 15 minutes. Hill's injury also afforded some minutes to A.J. Price, who equaled Stephenson with 15 minutes.

News: Granger scored a game-high 36 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field, including five 3-pointers, and 13-of-15 from the free-throw line in Indiana's win over Minnesota on Wednesday night.
Impact: Granger has been in a groove of late, scoring more than 20 points in each of the last five games while shooting 47.7 percent (41-of-86 FG) from the field. He's made 24 trips to the free-throw line, making 22 of them, in the previous two games.

News: Granger scored 21 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field and 9-of-9 from the free-throw line Tuesday night in Indiana's win over New Jersey.
Impact: Granger spent a good deal of the game attacking the basket instead of settling on ill-advised jumpers, something that has plagued him throughout his career. Connecting at a career-worst 38.4 percent from the field, Granger needs to find other ways to impact the basketball game when his shot isn't dropping. He added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in the win Tuesday.

News: Stephenson will get bump in minutes in the Pacers' backcourt rotation because of the ankle injury suffered by George Hill, the Indianapolis Star reports.
Impact: Hill suffered a chip fracture of his left ankle during Tuesday night's win over the Nets and will be evaluated over the next few days. Stephenson, who averages 8.8 minutes per game this season, played 12 minutes Tuesday and had five assists (one turnover) and two points in a win over the Nets. We'll see just how much more playing time Stephenson will get when the Pacers tip off in Minnesota on Wednesday, their first game without Hill.

News: George scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including four 3-pointers made, in Indiana's win over New Jersey on Tuesday.
Impact: George also had four rebounds, two steals, two blocked shots and one assist in 33 minutes. And his defense against Deron Williams stood out late in the game. Indiana head coach Frank Vogel said he called no more than two plays for George all night, so it was very good instinctive game for the second-year pro.

News: Hibbert, who recently suffered a broken nose, had the nose set Monday, the Indianapolis Star reports.
Impact: Hibbert has been wearing a protective face mask since sustaining the broken proboscis in the Pacers' win over the Lakers on Jan. 22. He hasn't missed a game due to the injury, most recently going off for 18 points and 14 rebounds in Tuesday's win over the Nets.