SACRAMENTO, CA — The battle between the two worst teams in the NBA will not include several of the best players on either team, not surprising considering the implications to the draft lottery.
The Pacers, who have the worst record in the Eastern Conference at 15-49, have lost nine straight games but have been playing with close to a full complement of players for most of their West Coast road trip. That will not be the case on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET when they play the Kings, who are last in the West at 15-50.
Pacers All-Star forward Pascal Siakam (right knee sprain), veteran point guard T.J. McConnell (right hamstring soreness) and center Ivica Zubac (left ankle sprain) were all ruled out for Tuesday’s game against the Kings when the official injury report was released Monday evening. Starting point guard Andrew Nembhard is listed as doubtful with low back soreness and neck soreness and All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles tendon tear) and forward Johnny Furphy (ACL tear) are also out with their long-term injuries. Forward Jarace Walker, who turned his ankle in Sunday’s game against the Blazers, is listed as probable.
Zubac hasn’t played for the Pacers since he was acquired from the Clippers on Feb. 5. Siakam leads the Pacers with 24.0 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game. Nembhard is the team’s second-leading scorer with 17.1 points per game and leads the squad in assists with 7.4 assists per game. McConnell averages 9.3 points and 4.7 assists per game, shooting 53% from the floor. He’s second on the team in points per 36 minutes with 19.9 and first in assists per 36 minutes with 10.0.
With McConnell (and Haliburton) out and Nembhard likely out, the Pacers will have to dig deep to find a point guard. Kam Jones, Quenton Jackson and Ben Sheppard would be the options.
The Kings will be missing three of their top five scorers with two of the three out for the season. Guard Zach LaVine (19.2 ppg) is out for the year after surgery on his hand and former Pacers center Domantas Sabonis (15.8 ppg, 11.4 rpg) is out after season-ending knee surgery. Recently acquired wing De’Andre Hunter is out for the year after eye surgery. Forward Keegan Murray (14.0 ppg) is out with a left ankle sprain and has played just 22 games this season. Center Dylan Cardwell is also out with a left ankle sprain.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pascal Siakam out, Andrew Nembhard doubtful for Pacers vs. Kings
Reporting by Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
