This has been the year from hell for the Indiana Pacers. Without Tyrese Haliburton, it was going to be hard for them to reach the NBA Finals as they did in 2024-25. Injuries at the guard spot were the one spot they could not afford to have injuries.
Instead, injuries at the guard spot are all they have had. The Pacers are without Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell, and Bennedict Mathurin. Obi Toppin is out for three months, as well. That’s four of the top seven guys on their team.
Injuries were so bad that the Pacers were granted an injury exception, which they used on Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. On Monday night against the Bucks, Indiana lost two more players to injuries, and both are ball-handlers.
Pacers Lose Johnny Furphy and Quenton Jackson to Injuries
Against Milwaukee, the Pacers first lost Quenton Jackson to a hamstring injury. While playing defense against Giannis Antetokounmpo, he quickly grabbed his hamstring and went straight to the locker room. He was ruled out for the rest of the game shortly afterwards.
Jackson was the starting point guard for the Pacers in this game simply because they didn’t have anyone else. He was coming off a career-high 25-point effort against the Warriors. It’s unclear how long he will be out for, but Indiana will need another new starting point guard.
Johnny Furphy seemed to suffer a worse injury. He left the game after trying to save a ball near the baseline. He turned his ankle and did not return. Even worse, he was seen after the game using crutches to get around, so he will likely be out for an extended period of time.
Rick Carlisle didn’t have an update right after the game during his postgame press conference.
“They’re out. They went out of the game with ankle and hamstring injuries. So, we’ll see. I don’t know when we’ll do MRIs or anything like that. We’ll let you know whenever we can.”
Pacers’ Season Starting to Slip Away With Injuries Mounting
With Antetokounmpo hitting a game-winning shot against the Pacers, they have now slumped to 1-6 on the young season. Without enough healthy guys to handle the ball and set others up, the offense has cratered so far in ways they were not expecting.
Indiana scores the seventh-fewest points in the league. It’s surprising they score that many points because they have the worst shooting percentage in the NBA. The guys they are missing are massive drivers of offense, so not having them has had a massive effect on winning games.
Nembhard and McConnell are the two players who are the closest to returning to the lineup. The Pacers desperately need both of them to return if they want to salvage any part of this season. If the injuries do keep piling up, they might just start entering into tank mode.
Getting their first-round pick back from the Pelicans in a trade during the playoffs last year might end up being the shrewdest move Kevin Pritchard has made in quite a while for this basketball team.
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