Indianapolis ? By his own admission, Scot Pollard is an acquired taste.

His best plays rarely show up on the televised highlights, because they don’t involve spectacular dunks to finish a fast break or last-second three-pointers. They tend more toward the anonymous. He’ll grab the rebound that starts the fast break, or set the screen that gets the three-point shooter open.

Then there is his look, a carefully-cultivated, often-changed image that keeps everyone guessing.

The hair has been spiked, streaked, bleached and shaved. The face has borne scruffy beards, Lincoln-esque goatees or a thick Fu Manchu.

Ultimately, however, substance overcomes style. That’s what made Pollard attractive as a replacement at center for Brad Miller, whose free-agent price-tag forced a sign-and-trade deal Thursday that sent the former Pacers starter to Sacramento and brought Pollard to Indianapolis.

Pollard, the former Kansas University standout, made his first appearance Tuesday at Conseco Fieldhouse in an introductory news conference.

“The fans here are kind of going, ‘This is ridiculous,’ but they don’t really know because they haven’t seen me play a lot,” Pollard said.

“I’ve been in a different conference. They see me play once a year, maybe twice if they watched the game in Sacramento (on TV). All they see is maybe some wise-cracks in the media and the blond hair and they think, ‘This guy is just another freak, and we lost an All-Star for this guy.’ I can understand that. But I think Brad Miller was good in a lot of ways and I’m good in a lot of ways. And I don’t think we’re going to be hurting in the middle.”

Larry Bird, Indiana’s president of basketball operations, agrees.

“I’m very excited about Scot being here because, as you know if you’ve seen him play, he comes to play, he plays hard, he comes to work, he comes to practice, he does the things necessary to get better,” said Bird. “That’s why I’m excited about this, because any time you can bring a player in that’s dedicated to the game and plays hard every night, not only do fans love him but I do, also.”

In his Sacramento tenure, the Kings had a substantially better winning percentage in the games he started (34-13, .723) than in the games he did not (212-119, .640).

Pollard, 28, is a 6-foot-11, 265-pound veteran of six NBA seasons. Originally a first-round pick of Detroit in 1997, the former Jayhawk has established his reputation as a rugged defender and rebounder, posting career averages of 18.9 minutes, 5.6 points and 5.6 rebounds.

His most extended time as a starter came in 2001-02, when the Kings went 21-8 with him in the lineup; in those games, he averaged 29.1 minutes, 7.2 points and 8.9 rebounds.

“When I’m on the court, it’s business time and I don’t mess around,” he said.

“As far as what I bring to the Pacers, I make teams win. I’ve always been on successful teams. I’m not the main cog in the offense, but I make the offense work and I’m a great defender. I make the defense work, as well. I do the little things that help teams win.”