Autumn Allison

autumn.allison@indystar.com

Pacers at Suns%2C 9 p.m. Tuesday%2C FSI

All season long, the Indiana Pacers have found themselves facing issue after issue. Challenge after challenge. Injury after injury. So now that the injuries are healing, it gets easier, right?

Think again. The Pacers find themselves with yet another test.

"This is probably more difficult of a challenge than playing with five guys out for two weeks," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Everyone is at a different level of their rhythm and conditioning, and there's different combinations out there that haven't spent a lot of time producing with each other."

Center Roy Hibbert will return on Tuesday from an ankle injury that caused him to miss four games when the team continues a four-game road trip in Phoenix (9 p.m., FSI). That follows team leader David West's triumphant return last Friday.

But now, Vogel is working to balance a roster that includes guys who haven't seen court time together since October.

"Roy and David haven't spent time together since the preseason," Vogel said. "It's going to be a challenge but those guys are pros and they've been playing with each other for quite some time and they can overcome it. … They've got pretty good on-the-court chemistry. It's just really a matter of individual timing."

While Vogel is confident that previous experience will make the transition easy, he plans to keep "things as simple as possible" to help ease the process.

The team is glad to have both big men back and believes their presence, especially Hibbert under the basket, will help put some pressure on the Suns up-tempo offense. The teams played just 10 days ago with Phoenix handing the Pacers their worst loss of the season, 106-83, as Hibbert was injured and played just seven minutes.

"You have a post threat that they have to defend for, run film for and go over for in practice. Last time we didn't really have that down there," said small forward Solomon Hill. "Now we have David as well. We have two big, strong post guys and good guys to back them up as well."

Hibbert took a longer-term view on his return: "Hopefully my presence at the rim helps every game no matter who we are playing."

During Hibbert's absence, the hole at center was filled by the joint efforts of Lavoy Allen and Ian Mahinmi. Allen is averaging 8.1 rebounds per game and Mahinmi, who had been earning minutes behind Hibbert, was able to step as the starter and produce in that role.

"(Mahinmi) played really well. What's impressed me is the physicality ... earning paint catches and finishing around the basket," Vogel said. "He's done a great job of that. Obviously he gives us great defense too."

The reason for Mahinmi's success at the rim: preparing for defense first.

"I start my game from the defensive end and go from there. So it's been good for me to get more minutes," said Mahinmi, who averaged 8.6 points and 7.4 rebounds over the past five games.

Allen and Mahinmi are just two of former reserves that have stepped into bigger roles and kept the club afloat, capturing unexpected wins such as beating the Heat, Mavericks and Bulls on the road.

"I think I'm happy with how hard we are playing. I'm not happy with being 7-10 but I wouldn't expect this group to play anything but scrappy and hard," Vogel said. " … We can't be pleased with our effort. We have to get some wins."

Follow Star reporter Autumn Allison on Twitter: @Aallison25.

INDIANA AT PHOENIX

Tipoff: 9 p.m. Tuesday.

TV: FSI.

Radio: WFNI 107.5 FM/1070 AM.

PACERS (7-10)

Projected starters

Pos. Player PPG Key stat PG Donald Sloan 11.6 5.1 apg SG Rodney Stuckey 12.7 2.5 apg SF Solomon Hill 12.0 5.4 rpg PF David West 16.0 6.0 rpg C Roy Hibbert 13.1 7.8 rpg 6th Chris Copeland 12.3 35.3 3FG%

<EL,3>SUNS (10-8)<QC>

Projected starters

Pos. Player PPG Key stat PG Goran Dragic 14.4 3.2 apg SG Eric Bledsoe 14.6 5.7 apg SF Marcus Morris 9.5 3.8 rpg PF Markieff Morris 14.8 6.4 rpg C Miles Plumlee 5.6 5.9 rpg 6th Gerald Green 14.4 36.3 3FG%

STORYLINES

Running man: The increased minutes Solomon Hill is seeing has him leading the team in distance traveled per game with a total of 38.4 miles this season (2.3 per game) according to nba.com's advanced statistics. "I think the happiness is just really driving my conditioning," Hill said. "I feel good anytime coach puts me out there."

Head scratching: Point guard Donald Sloan has said he made it his mission to leave Vogel "scratching his head" on who should get playing time. According to Vogel, Sloan is succeeding. "(He is) more than a third point guard, a third-string point guard. He's given us big minutes and hopefully he keeps doing it." Sloan has lead momentum shifts, carried entire games and taken up the mantle of game manager to fill in while Stuckey, George Hill and C.J. Watson have been battling injuries.

Injury update: George Hill will play for at least a couple of more weeks, according to Vogel. Hill has been out since he suffered a torn left quadricep during the preseason. Vogel is hopeful the guard will be able to return to some activities next week.

Prediction: The Pacers' four-game road swing begins with a rough matchup. Last time the two teams meet (just ten days ago) Phoenix gave Indiana its worst defeat of the season with a 106-83 final. It was a season-low for the Pacers, who managed to shoot only 36.9 percent from the field and allowed 63 bench points. A main difference between the games will be the mass return of injured players to the Pacers' roster, which includes Stuckey, West, Watson, Miles and Hibbert. However, the Suns might be missing point guard Isaiah Thomas (15.5 points per game) who has missed three straight games with a bruised ankle and is questionable for Tuesday. Even with Thomas out, Phoenix has plenty of ammo to keep the gears churning for its up-tempo offense, a style Indiana has struggled with as of recent. To quote practically every player, the Pacers are going to have to make a quick jump at the start of the game or the Suns will run away with the game. Phoenix 101, Indiana 94.

— Autumn Allison