In this gap year without the recovering Tyrese Haliburton, the Indiana Pacers have had a whopping 27 players appear in a game for them this season.
Right now, Haliburton, Johnny Furphy (both out for the year), Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard, Pascal Siakam, T.J. McConnell, Ivica Zubac, Aaron Nesmith, Quenton Jackson, Obi Toppin, and Micah Potter are all on the injury report.
And you can be sure the team will be very cautious about the return timelines for all of them.
Expect a handful more season debuts from players on 10-day or two-way contracts. Expect plenty more funky lineups. And expect more losses between now and the end of the season.
The Pacers are doing what’s right for their organization. If this campaign results in the addition of one of this draft class’ potential stars, this will have been worth it.