INDIANAPOLIS - After receiving some of the harshest penalties in NBA history for one of the worst brawls in U.S. sports history, the Indiana Pacers' deep and talented roster has been reduced from a title contender to rubble.

The Pacers lost over 62 percent of their scoring when Ron Artest was suspended for the season, Stephen Jackson for 30 games and Jermaine O'Neal for 25 for fighting with Detroit Pistons fans on Friday night.

Combined with myriad injuries to key players, that leaves the likes of Fred Jones and Austin Croshere to carry the load until the team gets healthy and O'Neal and Jackson return.

The Pacers' leadership expressed unequivocal support for all three suspended players on Monday and said the losses haven't changed their goals for a season that began with championship aspirations.

"We don't care who puts on a uniform," coach Rick Carlisle said. "There's a standard here. When you put on an Indiana Pacers uniform, you're expected to perform at a certain way at a certain level. That's what we expect from all these guys who haven't necessarily been star players."

Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh called the melee a low point for pro sports and the franchise.

"We apologize for our part in it," Walsh said.

Artest bolted into the stands after being hit by a cup thrown by a fan, touching off a brawl in which players exchanged punches with fans, who also doused the Pacers with drinks, popcorn, a chair and other debris.

Jackson joined Artest in the stands, swinging wildly, while O'Neal remained on the floor and punched a fan who came onto the court.

O'Neal and Artest have also apologized for their roles in the brawl, but Anthony Johnson said his five-game suspension was "excessive."

"I never went into the stands; I never left the court area," Johnson said. "People certainly can see what the conditions on the floor were like. The chaos speaks for itself."

Now the Pacers are trying to move forward and salvage a season that began with so much promise.

They entered the season as favorites with the Pistons to win the East. Now just making the playoffs in the weak conference is not a sure thing.

"It's tough. We're without three guys we need," said Jones, who scored a career-high 31 points in a loss to Orlando on Saturday. "The only thing now is to press on until they get back.

"It's on us. It's on our shoulders right now. Everyone in the locker room that is still here is looking forward to the challenge. Everyone's counting us out, but we're ready for it."

If Monday was any indication, the Pacers are using the adversity as a rallying point.

"We're a band of brothers with the guys in the locker room," Reggie Miller said. "If (there is) any time to come together, it's now."

Suddenly, a team that was getting by on sheer talent early in the season now has very little margin for error.

"The message that's being put out there is no one's going to feel sorry for us. When we go to play these other teams, they're not going to take it easy on us," Croshere said. "We just have to go out and do things a little more exact, a little harder and be better than we otherwise would be."

Pacers president Larry Bird expects an effort similar to the inspired performance that six healthy and eligible players delivered in an 86-83 loss Saturday.

"We've had a lot of guys that have sat on the bench for a lot of years here and didn't get the opportunity to play," Bird said. "They're getting the opportunity now. Help's on the way."

Miller, Johnson, Scot Pollard and Jeff Foster are all on the mend and could return in the coming weeks.

But even when they do, the Pacers will still be without their three best players.

"That's their first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth option," Pistons guard Richard Hamilton said. "It's going to be tough. They're going to have to adjust a whole lot because they run so much stuff through Ron and they run so much through Jermaine."

But Carlisle, who called the suspensions "tougher than I think most people expected," remained optimistic.

"There's a long way to go here," Carlisle said. "We're steadfast in our approach of, 'Hey we're in this to win games.'"