This week, ESPN's Dr. Jack Ramsay gives advice to teams who are aching to turn things around. This week, he examines the Indiana Pacers, ESPN.com's team to watch in the Central Division.

The Symptoms
The Pacers had a 42-40 record in the 2001-02 season and finished in a tie for fourth place with Toronto in the Central Division as both teams squeezed into the playoffs ahead of Milwaukee. The Pacers got there by winning their last five games of the regular season, which included a crucial overtime win against the Bucks. The Pacers then extended New Jersey to five games before losing the final first-round game in overtime.

	Jermaine O'Neal will be only 24 when the season begins.

This is a young and talented Pacers squad with division title aspirations. Other than the veteran Reggie Miller, soon to be 37 years old, the rest of the team averages a bit under 24. Three of its players (Jermaine O'Neal, Al Harrington and Jonathan Bender) came into the NBA right from high school, and a fourth player, 7-foot-1 backup center Primoz Brezec, is a product of the club system common among European players and didn't attend college, either.

There is depth at every position except point guard, where Jamaal Tinsley plays. Tinsley had a good rookie season (9.4 points and 8.1 assists a game), has worked hard this summer to improve his perimeter shooting, which was inconsistent -- only 38 percent from the field and 24 percent from 3-point distance. The reliable Kevin Ollie, Tinsley's backup last season, is an unsigned free agent at the moment but might be re-signed by Indiana if nothing better comes his way. Coach Isiah Thomas may try Jamison Brewer, a second-year man who played in only 13 games as a rookie, at that spot.

Reggie Miller remains the starter at the two guard and is backed up by Ron Mercer, who was obtained in the trade that also brought Ron Artest and Brad Miller to the Pacers in exchange for Jalen Rose and Travis Best. Reggie Miller continues to demonstrate a great shooting touch (.406 in 3-point shooting and a league-best .911 from the line) and marvelous skill at moving without the ball, and he still knocks down crucial jumpers with regularity. Mercer is a proven scorer, but he has been fighting off injuries for the last two seasons, playing in only 53 games last season -- 13 with the Pacers. The willowy, versatile Jonathan Bender could also see minutes as a two guard even though he's 7-feet tall. Bender has a soft touch from the outside and has learned to drive to the hoop. Rookie Fred Jones will also try to get minutes at either backcourt spot.

Artest and Harrington man the small forward spot. Artest is an aggressive defender, ranking second in the league in steals (2.56), and is a double-digit scorer. Harrington is recovering from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but before his injury, he averaged 13 points and six rebounds last season, and he hopes to improve on those numbers. Bender also can play this position.

O'Neal has come on strong at either center or big forward. He led the Pacers in scoring and rebounding (19.0 points and 10.5 rebounds) last season and is the team's main inside scoring threat. O'Neal has made big strides in improving his game since coming to Indiana from Portland, and the experience he'll derive from the World Championships will help his confidence. Brad Miller, the other big man starter, bangs the boards and scores enough around the basket to keep opposing defenses honest. Tough-rebounding Jeff Foster will get most of the backup minutes at both positions and has occasionally moved into the starting lineup. Another front-line reserve, 6-10 Austin Croshere, has 3-point range and drives to the hoop well, but he needs to rebound more to get increased playing time. Brezec may get more minutes if he shows he can help with the rebounding chores.

Having that much depth is not always the blessing it may appear. When Thomas first took over the coaching job two years ago, he spread minutes among his top players to give everyone a chance to play. That caused grumbling by some who felt they weren't getting enough playing time. Thomas may face the same problem this season. Artest, Harrington, Mercer, Bender, Foster and Croshere all want to play more minutes than they'll probably get. The dissatisfaction with playing time could escalate into a morale problem for Thomas. And now, after two mediocre seasons, the coach knows that he needs to have a breakout year.

	Jamaal Tinsley, left, will need help at the point.

The Diagnosis
The Pacers scored enough points (96.8 per game) to win consistently. The problem is that they allow almost as many points (96.5) as they score. The Pacers were a surprising eighth in field goal percentage defense (.438) -- a stat that usually implies good basic team defense. In this case, that number was influenced positively by the presence of O'Neal in the basket area. He blocked 2.3 shots a game, sixth best in the league.

Rebounding has been a weakness for Indiana, despite O'Neal's double-digit contribution. The Pacers are out-rebounded every game on average and rank 24th in that statistic. And for a team that has as many quality shooters as the Pacers have, they're in the middle of the pack (15th) in field goal percentage. That means that there aren't many fastbreak opportunities and the half-court offense isn't producing the quality shots that it needs. A relatively high number of turnovers (15.2) also impacted the efficiency of the team's offense.

Indiana needs better protection at point guard in the event Tinsley gets hurt or needs to reduce his playing minutes to avoid injury. Team president Donnie Walsh, who makes the personnel decisions for the club, will no doubt pick up a veteran backup before the season begins.

In all, the Pacers need to play with more consistency than they've shown the last two seasons. There were too many games when the team seemed to play with a marginal degree of togetherness, energy or purpose. That won't cut it in the NBA -- not if you want to be a contending team.

Isiah Thomas is in his third year of NBA coaching. He should understand that coaching at that level requires a firm and full commitment to the job. There are no shortcuts to success. He has an excellent assistant in Brendan Malone. Together, they must get the Pacers on the right track.

The Cure
The Central Division is wide open. The Pistons showed last season what could be accomplished by tough-minded determination and a willingness for all players to accept their assigned roles. The Pacers have that same opportunity. Once his roster is set, Thomas needs to decide on a starting lineup and a consistent rotation of players off the bench. Then, he must stick with them until they prove they can't do the job.

The Pacers must improve on their rebounding. There's no logical reason why they should be out-boarded as they were last year. If they improve that facet of the game, it will open up fastbreak chances that result in high-percentage shooting. A focus on better ball-handling will reduce their number of turnovers and make the half-court game more efficient.

There's an old adage that applies well to the game of professional basketball: "If you take care of the little things, the big things take care of themselves." There is not a lot to fix on the Pacers to move them up the ladder in the Central Division. The Pacers have enough quality personnel to be a contender there -- rather than a team that must scramble to get into the playoffs.

Dr. Jack Ramsay, a Hall of Fame coach who won an NBA title with Portland in 1977, is an NBA analyst for ESPN.