The Pacers are hoping that injured forward T.J. Warren will be able to return to action sometime in late December or January, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Warren, who missed all but four games during the 2020/21 season due to a navicular left foot stress fracture, remained sidelined indefinitely this fall, as his recovery progressed a little slower than initially anticipated.
However, the Pacers provided a positive update on the 28-year-old last week — Warren got out of his walking boot and head coach Rick Carlisle expressed optimism that his return date was “weeks, but hopefully not months” away. Charania’s report lines up with that projection. If Warren can get back on the court sometime in late December, it’ll be less than two months since Carlisle made his comments.
Warren was one of the stars of the NBA’s Orlando bubble in 2020, averaging 31.0 PPG in six regular season games at Walt Disney World, boosting his season-long scoring rate to a career-best 19.8 PPG during his first year in Indiana. He put up a scorching-hot .536/.403/.819 shooting line in 67 games in 2020/21.
Getting Warren back would provide a nice boost to a Pacers team that is off to a sluggish start (4-7) in ’21/22.