SAN FRANCISCO — A day after bringing point guard Andrew Nembhard into the fold, the 1-8 Pacers head into their Sunday night game against the Golden State Warriors even more short-handed than they have been at any other point in their injury plagued season with their two leading scorers and most important players this season sitting out.
The Pacers took Nembhard off the injury report Sunday but announced that forwards Pascal Siakam and Aaron Nesmith — two players who have not missed a game this year and are averaging 24.3 and 15.9 points per game, respectively — will be out against the Warriors, meaning the Pacers will have nine players listed as out. Nesmith is listed as out with a right forearm contusion, while Siakam’s reason for missing the game is listed as “rest” with the Pacers facing the second night of a back-to-back.
With Siakam and Nesmith out, the Pacers are playing without seven of their top eight scorers from last season’s NBA Finals run with only Nembhard remaining.
Two-time MVP Stephen Curry is also out for the Warriors with an illness.
Nesmith took a hard fall in Saturday night’s loss to the Nuggets when he leapt up to try to grab a rebound and felt his legs go out from underneath him. Nesmith played through it and scored 25 points on 7 of 10 shooting including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
Carlisle confirmed in his pre-game press conference Sunday that the hard fall was the reason for the injury. He did not suggest it would be a long term problem.”
“Aaron hit the floor hard last night,” Carlisle said. “Very sore today.” We’ve had a very busy schedule, a lot of games, a lot of travel. The season is long. We have to be mindful of the big picture. That kinda coincides with the decision on Pascal today.”
His 15.9 points this season would be a career-high but he has had to significantly increase his shooting volume because of all the injuries and his efficiency has gone down drastically. He’s averaging 13.8 field goal attempts per game including 7.9 3-point attempts per game. He’s never averaged more than 8.8 field goal attempts or 4.6 3-point attempts per game for a season. He’s shooting 37.1% from the floor and 36.6% from 3-point range after making 50.7% of his field goal attempts and 43.1% of his 3-pointers last season. He also made 47.2% of his field goals and a remarkable 49.2% of his 3-pointers in the playoffs during the Pacers’ playoff run, leading all postseason shooters with 60 3-pointers.
Siakam, the Pacers remaining All-Star with point guard Tyrese Haliburton out for the season, has also taken an increased burden and has shown the wear and tear from that. His 24.3 points per game are a career-high, but so are his 20.3 field goal attempts per game. The 31-year-old is averaging 35.3 minutes per game, the most he’s averaged since the 2022-23 season. Siakam posted 23 points and 10 assists against the Nets in a loss on Wednesday, but also committed seven turnovers. He scored just 14 points against the Nets and made just 1 of his first 10 shots, finishing 5 of 16 from the floor.
“We’ve had a very busy schedule, a lot of games, a lot of travel,” Carlisle said. “The season is long. We have to be mindful of the big picture. That kinda coincides with the decision on Pascal today.”
The Pacers will still be missing high-scoring wing Bennedict Mathurin (great toe sprain,) veteran point guard T.J. McConnell (right hamstring strain,) rookie guard Kam Jones (lower back stress reaction,) forward Johnny Furphy (left ankle sprain), two-way contract guard Quenton Jackson (right hamstring strain), forward Obi Toppin (right foot stress fracture) and Haliburton, out for the year with an Achilles tendon tear. Toppin is out until at least February after surgery. Jackson and Furphy will at least miss this road trip.
Rookie guard Taelon Peter is also listed as questionable with a right groin strain. If he is out, the Pacers will only have 10 players available — Nembhard, wings Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker, centers Isaiah Jackson, Jay Huff and Tony Bradley, newly-acquired point guard Monte Morris and forwards Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Cody Martin, who are both on the team on 10-day contracts.
UPDATE: The Pacers announced they are starting Nembhard, Sheppard, Walker, Huff and Jackson.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Aaron Nesmith (right forearm), Pascal Siakam (rest) out for Pacers game against Warriors
Reporting by Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
