The Indiana Pacers won't embark on a road trip longer than their recently completed four-game West Coast swing the rest of the season. If you want to look for a bright side, odds are great that they won't go through a more damaging stretch the rest of the way, either.

On Tuesday, the Pacers announced that Danny Granger will miss a minimum of four to six weeks with a torn right plantar fascia. Granger sustained the injury during the third quarter of Saturday night’s game at the L.A. Clippers, an 88-72 setback that closed an 0-4 trip with Indiana's lowest-scoring effort since January of '08.

Granger, Indiana's leading scorer (24.4 ppg), won't require surgery, but will be required to stay off his feet and rest, as that's really the best way to deal with this type of injury.

Unfair or not, Larry Bird's skills in putting together a team are about to be put on full blast. Has he assembled a team deep enough to overcome the loss of their catalyst for roughly a quarter of the season? Can his coach, Jim O'Brien, make pieces work and flourish while short-handed the way predecessor Rick Carlisle managed to mid-decade?

It's up to Bird's recent acquisitions to give Indiana a fighting chance.

Dahntay Jones, who had success as a starter alongside Granger while Brandon Rush was out, is expected to step in at small forward. Mike Dunleavy, who returned on the ill-fated trip, will undoubtedly receive more minutes and could factor into the starting mix as he gains his footing. Troy Murphy has to be more of a scorer. There might be more opportunities for young frontcourt pieces Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansbrough to have larger roles.

O'Brien has options, and while the goal of chasing a playoff berth with Granger out roughly 20 games seems far-fetched -- life without its All-Star begins with Indiana mired in last place in the Central Division -- it's critical that the postseason remains the goal.

Jamaal Tinsley is back in the league, and Stephen Jackson is back on the East Coast, now a couple stops removed from his Pacers days. The house-cleaning is complete.  Bird has been adamant that his team is ready to take that next step, so allowing Granger to become an excuse would really set the franchise back.

Considering the Eastern Conference is even more top-heavy than it was last season -- a nice way of saying that the have-nots are even worse -- losing Granger doesn't have to be the end. Toronto, Philadelphia, Detroit and Chicago, playoff teams a year ago, have struggled. Washington, expected to contend for a top-four spot with Gilbert Arenas back and Mike Miller on board, brings up the rear in the Atlantic.

All are there to be had.