I just returned from the Bobcats practice at Conseco Fieldhouse as they prepare for Tuesday night’s game against the Pacers. Charlotte is 34-31 and during their franchise-tying six-game winning streak, one of the common themes has been they have scrapped morning shootarounds before games. The coaches feel their guys could use the late season rest more than the light workout. That said, they also included the Pacers scouting report after today’s session, enabling the team to get more rest tomorrow before the game; they took care of everything today.

The Bobcats lost here in Indy in December, 101-98, after beating the Pacers thoroughly on November 22 in Charlotte, 104-88.

The Bobcats will continue to play without Gerald Wallace, who is receiving treatments on his sprained left ankle. His boot has been removed, but he did not participate in practice today. Perhaps a weekend return in Atlanta or Miami sounds like a target for his return. The team beat the Magic without him last night, as Stevie Graham played well starting for him, and most importantly, Stephen Jackson accepted the responsibility of main scorer, pumping in 28 points with six rebounds and six assists.

Graham will likely start again against the Pacers team that he was a part of last year. He’ll be matched up with Danny Granger, who averages 23 points per game. Indiana is 21-45 after losing 9 of 11 and is dealing with a host of injuries this season – Granger, Mike Dunleavy, Jeff Foster and Tyler Hansbrough have all missed significant time.

Newcomer Larry Hughes shot around today but is still dealing with a hand injury that will keep him out of the rotation for a few more games.

The Bobcats are tied with Miami for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference Playoff race and own the tiebreaker based on a (3-0) head-to-head record against them. Regardless of seeding, they’ve shown they can beat Cleveland, having won the last three games against them this season. On Sunday night, they finally broke through against the Magic this year, and the Celtics are under .500 over the last two months, showing their age and mortality. Atlanta may be the toughest matchup of them all in evaluating the top echelon teams in the conference. We play down there next Friday.

A couple of weeks ago, I realistically thought it would come down to us and Chicago for the last playoff spot, but with Toronto’s collapse, dropping 9 of 10, our path to the postseason may be easier than it once was.

With myriad franchise records shattered this season, earning a record-setting seventh straight win would be arguably the proudest achievement; and that can be accomplished with a win here in Indiana.