Editor's note: Each week during the NBA regular season, Dr. Jack Ramsay makes a house call with an ailing team.

This week's team: Indiana Pacers.

The Symptoms
On January 27, the Pacers were breezing along -- 33-12 after a win at Miami. Since then, they had gone 6-15, including a six-game losing streak snapped March 14 against the Jazz.

	The Pacers need Ron Artest to start keeping his cool.

Coach Isiah Thomas says that his team has become too "self-absorbed," meaning that he thinks his players are more concerned with individual stats than the most important one -- team wins. Assistant Brendan Malone says that the Pacers are quick-shooting in the team offense, ironically called "Quick," without allowing enough ball and player movement for it to become maximally effective. The result is that the team's shooting percentage has dipped to .438 -- only 20th best in the NBA.

In a recent loss to Boston, the Pacers had several opportunities to put the game away. But they missed open shots from the field, including an air-ball 3-pointer by Reggie Miller as time ran out, and they bricked free throws down the stretch, including two by Jermaine O'Neal that could have iced the victory.

Then there are the suspensions meted out to Ron Artest -- three by the league and one by the Pacers -- for excessive physical displays on and off the court that have had a disrupting effect on the team. Artest is having his best season (15 points, five rebounds, three assists), but he's missed 10 games already and will likely miss more -- unless he acquires better emotional control.

The Diagnosis
This is a good team -- one that is capable of coming out of the East to reach the NBA Finals. O'Neal (20 points and 10 rebounds a night), Brad Miller (15 and eight) and Al Harrington (13 and six) make up a strong and productive front line. Jamaal Tinsley (over seven assists a game) and Erick Strickland are capable point guards; Artest, Miller and Ron Mercer are more than adequate at two-guard. Thomas also has Austin Croshere and Jeff Foster as big-man reserves.

And despite their nose dive, the Pacers haven't lost much ground in the Eastern Conference race, because their closest rivals -- New Jersey and Detroit -- have experienced similar swoons.

The team defense is good. Indiana keeps opponents to .429 shooting, which is fourth-best in the league. They out-rebound opponents by over two boards a game. It appears then that Indy's difficulties have much to do with its offense. I find no fault with the principles of the "Quick" attack. Malone's diagnosis regarding the execution of offense is on target. When the ball moves and players are active, good things happen. The Pacers need to exercise patience -- to make sure a quality shot is obtained with each possession. That's not happening often enough.

The Cure
Losing is a great incentive for change. The Pacers have lost often enough for them to be anxious to turn things around. Showing video tapes of outstanding performances from earlier in the season compared with those of recent losses would graphically illustrate to the players what it takes to win again.

	Pacers coach Isiah Thomas must remind his players of their primary goal: victories.

I'm sure the execution of the offense when the team was playing well would show the ball and player movement that bring satisfactory results. There is also a strong relationship between good execution and the number of passes made on a particular possession. Those points must be hammered home with the players. The next step is to duplicate those principles on the practice floor and then apply them to the games. Good practices precede good-game performances.

When I coached, I always had competitive shooting drills ... from the field and from the line. I'd bring the clock into play, starting with "team with the ball," "tie game" and "one minute remaining." Let the players set up the action and play it out, then reverse the situation where the second team has the ball. Players gain confidence with successful execution of those simulated conditions and their confidence carries over into the game.

Apply the same conditions to free throws. Have a player on the line shooting two with the team behind by two points, then vary the time left -- from 30 seconds down to no time remaining. Then require a certain number of consecutive free throws to be made before players leave the floor at the end of practice. Set up free-throw contests between the starters and reserves, shooting two at a time. The first team to make 25 wins -- and the losers run "suicide" sprints.

Those activities get everyone's attention and invite healthy competition, which has excellent game application. It might also be well for coach Thomas to review his player rotations from those periods of team success. I recall watching games in which Foster made big contributions; now, he's mostly a DNP, averaging only 10 minutes a game.

Finally, the Pacers must have Artest play under control. He's gotten a deserved reputation for excessive physical play and nothing Don Nelson said is responsible for that. His channeled aggressiveness is extremely valuable to the team, and the Pacers need him available for every game.

The Pacers are too good a team to have a 6-15 segment of their season. They have 16 games left to get it right.

Dr. Jack Ramsay, who is an NBA analyst for ESPN, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.