- Pacers guard T.J. McConnell, who was previously said to be out “a while,” is wearing a cast and is now expected to be out for “weeks, not days” according to coach Rick Carlisle, the team announced (via Twitter). The Pacers also tweeted that T.J. Warren will not be playing in December, per Carlisle. He will have more scans on his foot at the end of month or in early January. Warren has yet to play a game this season after playing in just four games last season.
3:25pm: McConnell will get a second opinion on his injury before he and the Pacers decide on a course of action, according to Agness.
12:34pm: Pacers guard T.J. McConnell, who is dealing with a right wrist injury, will be “out for a while,” head coach Rick Carlisle said today, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link).
For now, there’s no real recovery timeline or even a formal diagnosis for McConnell. The team is still evaluating the extent of the injury and will likely issue a more detailed update within the next day or two, says Agness.
McConnell has only made six starts for the Pacers this season, but he has been an important part of the team’s rotation. Entering action on Wednesday, the 29-year-old had appeared in all 23 of Indiana’s games and was averaging over 25 minutes per contest, with 8.7 PPG, 5.0 APG, and 1.1 SPG on 50.3% shooting. He left Wednesday’s contest vs. Atlanta after playing just three minutes.
McConnell’s absence should open the door for Brad Wanamaker to take on a bigger role. Wanamaker has been in and out of the rotation this season, but played 16 minutes on Wednesday as the Pacers’ backup point guard.
- Heat star Jimmy Butler (tailbone) missed his second consecutive game Wednesday night against the Cavs and it sounds like he could miss more time. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel tweets that he’s likely to miss the back-to-back games Friday and Saturday against the Pacers and Bucks.
- Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said that scans on T.J. Warren‘s foot had positive results, but there’s still no timeline for his return, the team announced (via Twitter).
Pacers wing Justin Holiday has entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, per Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link). Agness adds that Holiday will be sidelined for at least 10 days of action with Indiana, which will cover the club’s next four contests.
A player in the league’s health and safety protocols for 10 days or more has typically tested positive for the coronavirus, though no official confirmation of Holiday’s health status has been confirmed. Holiday has been in and out of the starting lineup this season, most recently replaceng rookie Chris Duarte as the club’s starting small forward.
The 6’6″ swingman, 32, is averaging 9.9 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.7 APG for the Pacers. He is boasting a .398/.357/.727 shooting line, relatively comparable to his career numbers of .399/.364/.819, besides the notably lower free-throw percentage.
Holiday is in the second year of a three-season, $18MM contract he signed with the Pacers in the 2020 offseason.
- Justin Holiday has been giving advice to Pacers rookie Chris Duarte about his new bench role, Brendan Rourke of the team’s website writes. “When you’re young, you focus a lot on being the starter and doing stuff like that,” Holiday said. “I’m just trying to give him a different sight of how he can still help. He’s still just as valuable even though he doesn’t have that starting role.” Holiday has been inserted into the starting lineup in place of Duarte.
- T.J. Warren has been doing some light court work and shooting with the Pacers recently, writes Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. There should be another update on his status next Tuesday, Nov. 30.
- Pacers center Myles Turner recently spoke about what went wrong under former coach Nate Bjorkgren last season, writes Matthew VanTryon of the Indianapolis Star. “Being a first-year head coach, there’s a lot of ego that comes with that. You have a lot of this, ‘I know what I’m doing. I got this.’ But in a sense, you don’t always know exactly what you’re doing. You have to accept that,” Turner said on the Noble and Roosh Show. “He kind of tried to accept that later in the year, but throughout the year, he wouldn’t let go of that ego in a sense. That’s one of the things that hurt him in his tenure in Indiana.” Bjorkgren was fired after his lone season in Indiana.
- Pacers rookie big man Isaiah Jackson has been recalled from the G League and will be available on Monday vs. Chicago, writes James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star. Jackson hasn’t played since October 27 due to a hyperextended left knee.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle delivered a wake-up call by benching the team’s starters against Charlotte on Friday, James Boyd of the Indianapolis Star writes. Carlisle pulled his opening group with eight minutes left in the third quarter, clearly unhappy with the way they were playing.
Indiana’s reserves then closed a 25-point deficit and nearly took the lead, but Charlotte managed to hang on for a 121-118 win. Carlisle’s decision led to the Pacers giving a better effort on Saturday in a 111-94 victory.
“Energy and effort, you gotta bring it every night,” star big man Domantas Sabonis said. “It’s a long season, a lot of games, and sometimes it’s hard to bring it. But it has to be a collective group, not (just) one or two guys can bring it because then the defense breaks down or on offense someone’s not committed to what we’re doing. (Saturday) felt like everybody was committed and good results showed.”
There’s more from the Central Division tonight:
- Cavaliers big men Lauri Markkanen and Jarrett Allen are set to return on Monday against the Nets, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Markkanen has missed nine games due to the league’s health and safety protocols, while Allen has missed three due to an illness. Cedi Osman (back) and Lamar Stevens (ankle) are doubtful for the contest, Fedor adds.
- Speaking of the Cavaliers, the team plans to be cautious with rookie Evan Mobley in his recovery from a sprained elbow, Fedor writes in a story for Cleveland.com. Mobley is making progress, but he was given a two-to-four-week timetable just under a week ago. In 15 starts this season, the 20-year-old has averaged 14.6 points, eight rebounds and 33.7 minutes.
- Matt Sullivan of RollingStone.com examines the secret COVID outbreak that caused fear within the NBA, Bucks and Suns during last season’s Finals. The series still went on as planned, with Milwaukee winning the championship in six games.
- Pacers coach Rick Carlisle felt his team simply didn’t play hard enough in an eight-point loss at Detroit on Wednesday, James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star relays. “This isn’t a ball movement issue. This is a hard play issue,” Carlisle said. “(Detroit) played harder. They took us out of the majority of things that we were trying to do offensively in the first half, and we’ve just got to play harder and with more force at both ends.”