Jones is a 10th-year NBA veteran now taking a seat at the end of Miami’s bench, but his career was in many ways launched by the brawl. A second-round draft pick (49th overall) by the Pacers in 2003, he had played in just six games as a rookie, for a total of 26 minutes. The brawl, however, reduced the Pacers’ roster to six players for their game the following night against Orlando, and left it severely shorthanded the rest of the season.

That opened a door for Jones, who wound up playing 75 games, starting 24, and averaging 4.9 points. He had 12 points and 12 rebounds in the first post-brawl game and followed that with 23 points (hitting 4-of-6 three-pointers) and 10 rebounds three nights later in a win over Boston. Two nights later he had 13 points, hitting 3-of-5 three-pointers.

“That’s what this league is about, making the most of your opportunities,” Jones said before Wednesday’s opening game of the Eastern Conference finals. “For the guys who can do that, you can stay in this league a long time.”

Jones, a free agent after his second season in Indiana, signed with Phoenix. He played two seasons there, averaging 9.3 points in the first one, then one in Portland, and the past five in his hometown of Miami. He played in 38 games for the Heat this season, averaging 1.6 points.

“There was a logjam at my position,” he said of his departure from the Pacers. “I had an opportunity to make more money in Phoenix, and Donnie (Walsh) and Larry (Bird), they were great with me. They wanted to see me to continue to grow as a player. It was bittersweet. They thought the move to Phoenix was a good idea and the rest is history.”

Jones still crosses paths with some Pacer former teammates. He sees Reggie Miller when Miller works Heat games for TNT. Metta World Peace, Al Harrington and Jamaal Tinsley are still playing in the league. He runs into Austin Croshere and Jeff Foster when the Heat play in Indianapolis.

“There’s still camaraderie, but we’re all in different stages of our career,” he said.

Jones’ career is winding down, but his future appears secure. He was a Finance major with a 3.4 GPA at the University of Miami, and is secretary-treasurer of the NBA Players Association. He also owns James Jones Ventures, an urban development company.

Would all of this happened if not for the brawl?

“Really, truly I’ll never really know,” he said.

The Pacers’ best ally for stealing a game in Miami during the Eastern Conference finals series that begins on Wednesday might be the schedule. The Heat have had a seven-day break, while the Pacers’ win over New York on Saturday allowed them to take one day off and then have two days of preparation.

“It’s good,” Paul George said of the Pacers’ schedule. “Going into this next series, we have enough time to rest and get over the last series.”

“It’s perfect,” coach Frank Vogel added.

It could be argued that the Pacers were better off winning their series with the Knicks in six games, rather than five. It provided the right amount of time off before resuming play, not to mention a financial boost from having a sold-out arena on Saturday.

So, they’re rested, and they hope the Heat are rusted. If that’s the case, Game 1 might present their best hope for taking homecourt advantage in the series, just as they did after winning Game 1 at New York.

There’s precedent for it. Miami disposed of Milwaukee in four games in the first round, finishing that series on April 28. It then had to wait for Chicago to eliminate Brooklyn on May 4. The Bulls rode the momentum of their Game 7 victory into Miami, where two days later they upset the Heat in Game 1 of their second-round series.

“I really don’t like a lot of rest,” LeBron James said before that series began, reflecting on his team’s long layoff. “I like to play either every 48 hours or 72 hours, so it’s difficult, but it is what it is.”

The Pacers know how it can go, too. In the lockout year of 1999, when they were favored by many to win the championship, they swept Milwaukee and Philadelphia in the opening rounds, then had to wait from April 23 to May 30 for the conference championship series. New York rolled in off a seventh-game win over Miami and beat the Pacers in Game 1 at Market Square Arena, and went on to win the series in six.

The Pacers had so much time off before that series began they were given a few days off from practice – enough that some players left town for awhile. Coach Larry Bird arranged a public scrimmage that was free to the public to help keep them sharp, but it wasn’t enough. They lost the first game by three points and were fortunate to win the second home game by two.

The Heat, however, have the fresh memory of their Game 1 loss to Chicago to help them on Wednesday.

“It’s going to be tough to catch them off-guard with that already happening to them in Round 2,” said Pacers television analyst Austin Croshere, a member of the Pacers team in 1999. “I’m sure it’s in the back of their minds.”

Still, a layoff is a layoff, and it can’t hurt the Pacers that the Heat might cooled a bit. In a series against the team that dominated the regular season, the Pacers will need every edge they can get.

The biggest change in this franchise’s recent history occurred on Jan. 30, 2011 when Frank Vogel was named interim head coach. Vogel, an assistant for three and a half seasons, already had a great rapport in the locker room.

In the summer of 2011, after Vogel guided the Pacers to a winning record and to the postseason for the first time since 2006, team officials removed his interim tag. They also signed free agent David West — an absolute game-changer in the locker room.

“It’s all about culture and how we go about our business,” Roy Hibbert said. “Before coach took over, we weren’t built for deep playoff runs, we were built for shooing threes and getting up as many threes as possible [under Jim O'Brien].

Unlike O’Brien, who often clashed with players, Vogel expressed genuine enthusiasm and optimism, which was contagious — and appreciated. Vogel cleared the hurdle of being the good guy assistant coach to being the task master. He has the full respect of everyone within the franchise.

“He really just changed the whole locker room,” said Paul George, the Pacers’ draft selection in 2010. “It’s positive vibes, it’s positive energy. We’re all pulling for one another. And I think that’s the biggest thing out of anything he’s done.”

Assistant Dan Burke has seen the growth of Vogel, who joined the team in 2007, better than anyone.

“Frank is always positive, even as an assistant,” Burke said. “When started being positive as the head coach, it took big leaps with the team. As the years have gone by, he’s become more confident and assured of himself with after timeout plays and game plays, demanding more from our guys.

Vogel has won three of the five playoff series in which he’s been the head coach, and he’s advanced deeper in the playoffs each season.

“Every game you play, you gain in-game experience,” he said. “And that’s the one thing when you go from assistant coach to head coach that you can’t replicate, and you can’t study until you go through it. Having another 100 games or so under my belt helps me be a better game coach.”

Growth goes beyond the head coach. Every single player on the Pacers’ roster has improved. From Paul George, the NBA’s Most Improved Player, all the way down to Orlando Johnson, who’s received solid playing time for a rookie.

Lance Stephenson’s improvement can go back to last summer where he remained in Indianapolis and could be seen at the Fieldhouse daily. He elevated his work ethic and started listening to guys rather than thinking he knew everything. The talent is certainly there. He’s having to learn to be under control and maintain his confidence. He’s no longer always the best player on the floor like he was in New York, but he can be one of the most impactful when he’s focused.

Hibbert has made great strides becoming what Vogel describes as “the best rim protector in the game.” In their second round series with New York, a great argument could be made that Hibbert was the teams’ MVP. He locked down the paint, forced the Knicks settle for jumpers, and had the play of the series — a block on Carmelo Anthony late in Game 6 that changed the tide of the game.

“Just the attitude, the culture of the team changed to a tough, gritty team,” Hibbert said of the team’s development. “Paul [George] really played well. Lance [Stephenson] came into his own this year. G-Hill brought his experience from San Antonio.”

Most of a player’s development is dependent on how much work he’s willing to put in, but he can also benefit from playing in the right system. The same way a player can also bottom out and sit the bench in the wrong opportunity. Vogel’s demeanor has been infectious and his system puts the players in the best possible situation to succeed.

West, the oldest player and the backbone of this team, has come up in big moments when the team needed something. He’s been as steady as they come, and will be a highly sought after free agent come July 1. He keeps the locker room in check and was the one that huddled the players together after beating the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. There, he reminded the guys that the win was great, but the ultimate prize was still 12 wins away.

The Pacers have made it to the NBA’s Final Four without a megastar on their roster. They are the first team to reach the conference finals without a top-five draft pick since the Utah Jazz in 1994. D.J. Augustin, the ninth pick in 2008 (selected by Charlotte), is the highest-drafted player on their roster.

Instead of seeking revenge from last season, the Pacers are approaching it like it’s next step on their quest for a championship. Due to the fact that they nearly had a hold of the series last year – they led 2-1 and were ahead by eight points at halftime of Game 4, in Indianapolis – and have had tremendous growth this season, the Pacers are a confident, together group heading into Game 1 on Wednesday.

“When we were up 2-1 last year [against Miami], we dropped the ball,” said West. “We felt all year that we were in that top two in the East, even though we started off slow and we had different lineup changes. Once we solidified our front-five, adjusted some of the things we were doing offensively and became the together group defensively, things have been building towards this.

“Everything with this group is about growth.”

There’s no fear in their eyes with the task of facing the defending champions. Instead, they relish the opportunity to not only play for a conference title, but have to beat the NBA’s best to advance to the franchise’s second NBA Finals in history, and the first since 2000.

“I write the word ‘Believe’ on the board every game,” Vogel told his team Saturday after topping the Knicks. “I believed you guys were going to beat New York and I believe we’re just getting warmed up.”

Miami Herald: “The Heat now knows who will it play in the Eastern Conference Finals, and it knows that opponent quite well. The Heat and Indiana Pacers have met nine times in the past 13 months.” Read More

Yahoo! Sports: “A year ago when Miami and Indiana faced off in the postseason, there were blood-drawing hits, flagrant fouls, technical fouls, choke signs being directed toward LeBron James and more than a few sharp-tongued comments. Here they possibly go again, at least on the comment front.” Read More

Sun-Sentinel: ”The Pacers’ David West arguably stands as the most important Pacers player in the series, due to his ability to dominate more at his position than Paul George possibly could against LeBron James at small forward. West led the Pacers with a 22.7 scoring average on .658 shooting during the regular season, beating a variety of Heat defenders with his creative post game.” Read More

“@espnstatsinfo: The Pacers reached the Conf Finals without a top 5 draft pick. @eliassports tells us last team to do that: 1994 Jazz”

— Real NBA Talk (@Real_NBA_Talk) May 20, 2013

all u can Heat:  “The most unpredictable thing about this series is knowing which Indiana Pacers team is going to show up.  Will the Indiana Pacers that did not score a field goal for 12 minutes (Game 2 of the Pacers-Knicks series) show up?  Or will the Indiana Pacers that played incredibly good defense, abused a New York Knicks team in the paint, and believed that they were world-beaters show up?” Read More

Sporting News: ”Indiana is built to take advantage of Miami’s weaknesses on the interior. It must win the rebounding battle and take advantage of the Heat’s limited interior defense.The Pacers must push the Heat to make this a rivalry. But a series victory isn’t likely.” Read More

Sports Illustrated: “Two things (at the very least) must happen to enable a Pacers upset: Wade must perform below expectations, and George must exceed them.” Read More

LeBron James fires back at Pacers’ Frank Vogel: ‘We’re not just another team’ on.si.com/11QpXXc

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 20, 2013

Sun-Sentinel: “If we’re the same team that we were last year, that won’t be good enough. Period. And fact,” Spoelstra said following Sunday’s practice at American Airlines Arena. “And that’s why we’ve spent so much time this year trying to develop habits to improve.” Read More

USA Today: “Paul George gets to go head-to-head with NBA MVP LeBron James in the Eastern Conference finals… It is the biggest basketball test — both physical and mental — in 23-year-old George’s career.” Read More

Bleacher Report: “Stephenson is no longer the benchwarmer that he was a season ago. In fact, it was his 25-point outburst that gave Indiana its deciding win over the Knicks Saturday night, and his defense is very much a part of Indiana’s biggest advantage over Miami.” Read More

Heat an absurd 2/15 favorite to win the Eastern Conference finals. Pacers getting 21/4 odds by @bovadalv.

— Joseph Goodman (@JoeGoodmanJr) May 20, 2013

Indy Star: “The postgame news conference usually includes both coaches and a player off each team. The Pacers didn’t bring in one player. They didn’t bring in two players, either. Not even three or four players. The Pacers brought in the entire starting five. It was only fitting they did it that way.” Read More

USA Today: “The Knicks had regained their three-point stroke and they were beating the Pacers at their own game — hustle and rebounding. Then it happened. The Pacers became determined not to lose.” Read More

Yahoo Sports: “Finally, it happened. No one could stop Lance Stephenson on Saturday night. When the uncertainty of a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden hung like an anvil over these Pacers, when the Knicks had come marauding back to take a fourth-quarter lead, Stephenson validated his benefactor’s vision with the biggest plays in the biggest minutes of the season.” Read More

“We(Knicks) were not constructed to deal with them dudes(Pacers).” – @spikelee

— ESPN First Take (@ESPN_FirstTake) May 20, 2013

CBS Sports: “In the wake of New York’s playoff elimination, not to the mighty Heat, but to the standard and decidedly… (pause for New York media to put their noses up) Midwestern Indiana Pacers, there will be justifications.” Read More

NY Times: “In a split second, the vision was shattered — smacked away by Roy Hibbert’s massive left palm and ultimately crushed by the sheer force of the Indiana Pacers.”         Read More

Indy Star: “The Knicks hit all 18 of their free-throw attempts. The problem was the Pacers shot 46 of them, making 34. Anthony was brilliant for most of the game, but struggled to score when his team needed it most.” Read More

The @nyknicks @pacers Game 6 on ESPN also did a 17.8 in Indy, making it the 3rd highest-rated NBA game on ESPN in the market.

— Ben Cafardo (@Ben_ESPN) May 20, 2013

CBS Sports: “There’s going to be a lot of focus on the Knicks and who is to blame and who is at fault for them not advancing. Here’s a little help on that: It’s the Pacers’ fault. They’re better than the Knicks, and they proved it.” Read More

ESPN: “Now they have a young core that is blossoming, which led them to pull what technically will be considered an upset of the veteran Knicks. But honestly, they looked like the better team from Game 1 onward.” Read More

Sports Illustrated: “Indiana spent the entire season perfecting its defense. On Saturday, it produced the biggest payoff for the Pacers in nearly a decade.” Read More

“@espnstatsinfo: The Pacers reached the Conf Finals without a top 5 draft pick. @eliassports tells us last team to do that: 1994 Jazz”

— Real NBA Talk (@Real_NBA_Talk) May 20, 2013

Instead, LeBron James, a four-time MVP, was upset with remarks he believed Pacers coach Frank Vogel made Saturday night after the Pacers defeated the New York Knicks to wrap up the Second Round series. Only, he didn’t.

At practice on Sunday, a reporter misinformed James of what Vogel actually said. James, who did note that his ears perked up when he heard it himself Saturday night, was told that “Vogel was saying last night that you guys are just another team.”

Which is far from accurate. In response to looking ahead at the opportunity his team had at another shot against Miami in the playoffs, Vogel did not pass the Heat off as simply just another team.

“Oh, it’s exciting,” he said. “But this is not about getting back at Miami. If you’re in the Final Four, you’re competing for a championship. You’re competing for a championship and they’re just the next team that’s in our way. And that’s how we’re approaching it.”

It appears now that James and the Heat are converting this non-story into motivation, as if they needed something. The drive for another championship should be enough.

“We’re not just another team,” James told the gathered media in Miami. “I don’t understand what he’s saying. But we’re not just another team. That’s not true.”

James continued: “He said we’re just another team in their way. We’re not just another team. We’re a great team. We’re very confident. We’ll be ready for them. But if we’re just another team, you really don’t prepare for just another team. We’re not just another team. You’ve got to be prepared for us.”

Vogel’s comments didn’t have a targeted feel to them. He exuded confidence in his own team and was using the one-game-at-a-time mantra.  After finishing off the Knicks in six games, it was about his group.

Earlier in the postgame press conference, Vogel was prompted for his range of emotions over the last year because it was about this time in 2012 when the Heat ended the Pacers’ season. Now, they are going to do it all over again for the right to play in the NBA Finals.

“Look at NBA history, right? Every great basketball team, every team that’s on a championship journey takes steps each year, taking a step further than they were the year before. A first-round elimination team two years against the Bulls made it to the Second Round last year and got knocked out by Miami. I’m just proud of the years-long effort to take that next step. But we’re not satisfied with where we’re at. We feel like there’s no ceiling on this team, this year. And we’re looking forward to the next series.”

Progress, development, confidence. That’s what the Pacers are demonstrating.

0

Jason Kidd’s total points scored in six games. The same as you and me. He was 0-for-8 in 89 minutes. Going back to the first round, he failed to score a point in 10-straight games.

5

How many times the Pacers beat the Knicks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse this season.

9

The number of technical fouls issued. The Knicks struggled to manage their emotions and were T’d up seven times.

41

The Knicks’ shooting percentage, almost five percent below their season average. The Pacers have the league’s-best field goal percentage defense.

43

Paul George’s average minutes, nearly six additional minutes per game than during the regular season. He had the primary duties of checking Carmelo Anthony, so whenever Anthony was on the floor, George was as well.

62

The rebounding margin, in favor of the Pacers, who won the battle of the boards in five of the six games. They were outrebounded by two in their Game 2 loss, but otherwise dominated this category. Knicks coach Mike Woodson even tried starting a big lineup in Game 4 but it was unsuccessful.

69

The free throw differential – an average of 11.5 per game . The Pacers attempted 176 to the Knicks’ 107 and they went in 69.9 percent of the time.

98

The number of giveaways — over 16 per game. That’s about four more than Vogel’s liking. The Knicks averaged the fewest turnovers in the league and had about 10 per game.

117

Minutes logged by D.J. Augustin. The most, by far, of any Pacers player off the bench. He made 10-of-19 3-point attempts and had only four turnovers.

8

Lastly, the number of wins needed for the Pacers’ first NBA title in franchise history.

Pacers fans nearly set Twitter on fire after that game, calling for him to be benched for the remainder of the Pacers’ playoff series with New York. Or, perhaps, thrown in jail.

Pacers coach Frank Vogel wasn’t swayed. He declared the next day that he would stick with Young, and he did. And he was rewarded. Young had two games that caused no further harm and three that were definitely positive over the final five games of the series, particularly in Saturday’s 106-99 close-out of the Knicks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Playing 9 minutes and 21 seconds off the bench,Young tossed five points, five rebounds, a blocked shot and sturdy defense onto the Pacers’ pile. It amounted to a statement for a coach’s faith in a player, and a player’s dedication to the cause.

“Even when I’ve played bad, he’s always stayed positive,” Young said of Vogel in the postgame locker room. “That’s just the kind of coach he is. He keeps a positive mindset, he keeps a positive outlook on the future.”

Young’s teammates, of course, had his back, too. But only in a locker room trash talking kind of way. The Pacers won Game 1, so it was easy to make fun of the guy who had looked like he had played blindfolded.

“We were joking on him, man,” David West said, smiling at the memory. “We called him ‘Tragic.’ He had the worst five minutes you can have. But he bounced back.”

And that’s the heart of this story. Young bounced back from “one of the worst games I’ve ever played,” because he went to work. He ran two miles on a treadmill in the team’s Manhattan hotel that night. He ran two miles both morning and night on most days after that, usually on a treadmill, but sometimes on the streets of Indianapolis. He also arrived early for practice and put up extra shots, and sometimes ran sprints as well.

“I wanted to let (Vogel) know through my actions I would never, ever have another performance like that,” Young said.

It wasn’t all for show, though. The extra running helped his stamina, and the extra shooting helped his confidence. Over the final five games of the series, he totaled 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting, with nine rebounds and one turnover. He made his greatest impact in the second quarter on Saturday, when he grabbed a weakside rebound of George Hill’s missed three-pointer and scored on a reverse layup, and followed by blocking Carmelo Anthony’s three-pointer from behind.

“My wind felt better,” he said. “I was going for loose balls that I wasn’t going for before. You just feel it within the game. You’re more detailed about different things if you’re not focused on your wind.”

Young played in just two of the six games of the Pacers’ first-round series with Atlanta, for a total of 10 minutes. So, when Vogel called upon him early in Game 1 of the next round against New York, it came as a bit of a shock.

“I felt I was sluggish; I felt I didn’t have my legs under me,” he said. “But you’re a professional and there’s no excuse.”

The Twitter reaction was one thing, but the response from family and friends was much worse.

“When people that I love and care about are coming at me, it means more to me. They were saying, ‘You played bad. You need to get it together.’ They were affected by it.”

Young could have a bigger role in Vogel’s rotation for the series with Miami. He was signed in the off-season for this series, really, as someone who can help defend LeBron James. Not to stop James, nor to contain James, just to make it as difficult as possible for James when Paul George isn’t defending him.

Chances are, he’ll be ready from the beginning this time.

On Saturday night, we saw further indications of just how tight this group is. In the final seconds, with Sam Young as the foul line, the entire bench was standing, cheering everyone on. Coach Frank Vogel slapped hands with Paul George. George Hill and Lance Stephenson embraced at mid-court. After the game, they all gathered at the center-circle to celebrate what they had just accomplished.

Nothing was more telling than how the team handled the postgame press conference responsibilities. The head coach and at least one player from each team must go into a separate room and answer questions from the media. When it was Vogel’s turn, he sat down in a full room with both of his daughters on his lap. Family is a big aspect of this team.

Later, a player representative of the Pacers was due up. But instead of just one guy, which presumably would have been Lance Stephenson after his 25-point career night, all five starters sat down on the platform as a unit.

Together, just like family.

The decision to all come out was decided collectively. Shocked? You shouldn’t be.

“This is the most together group I’ve ever been a part of,” said David West, the eldest player on the team. “We don’t have a bunch of ‘I’ guys, we have a bunch of ‘we’ guys.”

Remember, the Pacers are doing all this without All-Star Danny Granger, who missed but five games this season with a left knee injury. George Hill, who sustained a concussion on Tuesday and was a game-time decision, did all he could to pass the league-mandated tests in order to be out there with his guys.

“This was a game I couldn’t miss, and I couldn’t wait to get out there with my teammates,” he said.

In this six game series, all five starters led the team in scoring in at least one game, and thus went to podium. (As opposed to the Knicks, who were led in scoring by Carmelo Anthony each night). This moment was special and likely one they will remember years down the road. The Pacers are a balanced bunch that when pieced together, they have the talent to compete with any team on any night.

“It was a great team effort from top to bottom,” Roy Hibbert, visibility the most-excited Pacer of the group, added.

Earlier in the day, Hill participated in shootaround and “looked fine” according to Pacers head coach Frank Vogel.

The Pacers, who are playing at home tonight to clinch their first trip to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals since 2004, should get a lift from Hill’s presence. In Game 5, with DJ Augustin starting for Hill, the bench production was thin at the guard spot and the Pacers bench was outscored by the Knicks in Game 5, 35-10.

During his pregame press conference, Coach Vogel said that, “We did everything by the book, everything the league asked for.”

Coach Vogel confirms that @george_hill3 will start in tonight’s game with no limitations. twitter.com/Pacers/status/…

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 18, 2013

Earlier:

Official Statement
Over the last two days under the care of the Indiana Pacers’ medical staff, George Hill has participated in each step of the NBA’s Return-to-Participation Exertion Protocol as part of the NBA’s Concussion Policy. During the process, George remained symptom-free after each step including his workouts earlier today. After consultation with Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, the NBA’s Director of Concussion Management, the Pacers’ team physicians have cleared George to play in tonight’s game.

6:00 PM – This story is still developing. Please come back for more details and video from Coach Vogel’s pregame press conference.