"Glance at T.J. Ford's statistics last season.

The Indiana Pacers point guard averaged a career-high 14.9 points, added 5.3 assists and had his second best rebounding season.

Looks pretty impressive.

Talk to Ford or anyone else in the Pacers organization, though, and another picture emerges: one of a player struggling at times to learn a new system and eventually losing his starting job.

Sounds pretty inconsistent.

The reason?

Ford was changing from being a player used to dominating the ball to playing in a pass-first offense under coach Jim O'Brien.

"As far as the scheme of things, at times it looked great, other times it didn't look so great for me as far as my performance," Ford said.

Ford and the Pacers believe those problems are behind him.

They have to be because Ford has to set the tempo on both ends for the Pacers to succeed.

"T.J. had an up-and-down year last year," Pacers president Larry Bird said. "When he was good he was very good. I expect him to have a big year because I think he understands what Jimmy wants on the offensive end."

Ford won't have to look over his shoulder this season. Jarrett Jack is with the Toronto Raptors, and team officials let Ford know early in the offseason that he's the starter. Earl Watson, who signed a one-year deal, will be his backup.

Now it's up to Ford to produce.

"It's about being consistent," Ford said. "I have a good feel for the guys now. I'm just trying to do everything possible to get into the playoffs. That's the biggest thing for me. I don't want to miss it two years in a row. Just try to do whatever it takes to win; whether it's offensively or even defensively."

Ford averaged 13.4 points and 5.8 assists in the final 12 games off the bench.

"I don't think the bench thing was a problem," he said. "As long as you're playing minutes I couldn't complain. I wasn't complaining at all. I took the role and I think I was pretty much successful at it compared to when I came off the bench in Toronto.""