Pacers Thriving on Court, Not at Gate The N.B.A. is often criticized for being a league in which teamwork takes a back seat to catering to the biggest stars and egos. But the Indiana Pacers, with a roster of relative unknowns, are unexpectedly in line for the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Yet the Pacers have drawn the fourth-smallest N.B.A. home crowds, by percent of arena capacity filled. Averaging 14,064 fans a game, or 77.4 percent of Bankers Life Fieldhouse's capacity, through Friday's games, the Pacers ranked below the attendance of eight teams with losing records, including the Charlotte Bobcats, who are an N.B.A.-worst 7-51. Indiana has not drawn much better on the road, where the Pacers had played in arenas that were 85.8 percent full, also fourth worst entering the weekend. The team's attendance may be suffering for myriad reasons, from the lockout to fallout from the Malice at the Palace, in which members of the Pacers entered the stands and fought with fans during a 2004 game at Detroit. But what makes the team hard to market is also one of its biggest assets: the absence of a superstar. "When Miami comes to town, you see a Wade jersey or you see a James jersey," said David Benner, the Pacers" media relations director. When we go into other cities, we might see a Roy Hibbert jersey or a Danny Granger jersey, but we still see a lot of Reggie Miller jerseys. For years, Miller was synonymous with Pacers basketball, but this season six players on the team entered the weekend averaging 10.8 to 18.6 points a game. The rotation is so deep that eight players averaged more than 21 minutes a game, and none averaged more than Granger's 33.2. The roster, built by Larry Bird, the director of basketball operations, features depth in the frontcourt, with Hibbert and Granger sharing time with the emerging star Paul George and David West, a former All-Star who signed as a free agent before the season. The 76ers are most similar to the Pacers this season in terms of succeeding without a superstar. Philadelphia's average home attendance of 17,457, 15th in the league, trumps the Pacers" by more than 3,000. But Indiana's improvement has gained notice. The team's average attendance is up by more than 500 from that of last season. Television ratings are higher, and the Pacers have a franchise-record 115 sponsors. "It's like any business," Benner said. You go through a down time and then you rebuild the product and you rebuild the brand. We've had some criticism of our players, some justified and some unjustified, and you've got to build the brand back on top of building the roster back. Larry has done a really good job of building the roster to where we are a playoff team. The next step is to get this to where we're a competitive playoff team. Heat Visit Garden If there is such a thing as a good time to face the Miami Heat, the Knicks may have found it. The Heat, who will play in New York on Sunday, have lost three of their last five games. The two victories came against the sub-.500 Pistons and Bobcats. The Knicks have won four of five games, including victories over the Bulls and the Bucks. The Knicks will continue to use an unorthodox lineup, with Carmelo Anthony starting at power forward in place of Amar'e Stoudemire. That strategy will be put to the test if Anthony should find himself guarded by Chris Bosh, to whom he gives up at least three inches. But Anthony has speed that Bosh will find hard to handle. The Knicks, who have seven games left in the regular season, play their final three home games against teams that appear headed to the playoffs: the Heat, the Celtics and the Clippers.