Pacers resting Roy Hibbert against Knicks on Wednesday

The New York Knicks are so unimposing that a team fighting for its playoff life in early March will sit perhaps its most important player against them, even though it's not a back-to-back situation.

The Indiana Pacers are opting to rest defensive anchor Roy Hibbert against the Knicks on Wednesday, a bold call even against a 12-47 team.

The Pacers are one of six teams within three games of each other for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, and every win means a great deal the rest of the way. In sitting Hibbert, they lose one of the best rim protectors in the league, with opponents shooting just 43.2 percent when he's defending there.

Over 55 games, Hibbert is averaging 10.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks while shooting 45 percent from the floor. The team has been careful monitoring his workload, with the Georgetown product playing his fewest minutes since 2009-10, and it's helped lead to slightly higher efficiency than in a troubling 2013-14 campaign.

Ian Mahinmi will draw the start in Hibbert's stead. The French center is averaging 4.8 points and 6.1 rebounds in 18.7 minutes while shooting 59.3 percent from the floor, making him a nice, cheap target in daily fantasy leagues.