The Indiana Pacers have officially reached a level of injury misery that almost defies belief.
On Monday night, Indiana faced the Atlanta Hawks with just six available players, an almost unheard-of situation in the modern NBA. Remarkably, despite missing virtually its entire regular rotation, Rick Carlisle’s severely depleted squad nearly pulled off an extraordinary upset before eventually falling 108-104 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Indiana entered the game without all five of its regular starters. Tyrese Haliburton remained sidelined with a hamstring injury, Ivica Zubac was unavailable because of an ankle sprain, and Pascal Siakam was rested on the second night of a back-to-back.
Andrew Nembhard was held out because of a cervical issue, while Aaron Nesmith also missed the contest because of hamstring-related injury management.
And the problems extended well beyond the starting lineup. T.J. McConnell was dealing with a hamstring injury, Obi Toppin was sidelined by a lumbar sprain, Larry Nance Jr. was unavailable because of illness, Ben Sheppard remained out following meniscus surgery, and Johnny Furphy continued recovering from ACL surgery.
The final blow came shortly before tipoff, when Kelly Oubre Jr. was ruled out with a bruised left knee. That left Carlisle with just six players.
Braden Smith, Quenton Jackson, Jarace Walker, Jalen Slawson and Jay Huff made up Indiana’s makeshift starting five, while Kobe Brown served as the team’s only substitute.
Three of those six players were on two-way contracts. Approximately $193 million in player salaries was unavailable, while the six players who actually took the floor accounted for roughly $15 million.
“It’s kind of a perfect storm of things happening at once,” Carlisle explained before the game.
It was the first time since November 20, 2004, that the Pacers had used just six players in an NBA game. That previous occasion came in the immediate aftermath of the infamous Malice at the Palace brawl, which resulted in multiple suspensions.
Incredibly, Carlisle was also Indiana’s head coach back then. But what made Monday’s situation even more remarkable was how competitive the Pacers remained.
Jay Huff led Indiana with 22 points, Quenton Jackson contributed 20, and Smith recorded 19 points and 10 assists in his first career NBA start. Brown added 16 points off the bench, Walker finished with 15, and Slawson contributed 12.
Every available player scored in double figures. Despite trailing by as many as 15 points, Indiana refused to surrender.
The Pacers cut Atlanta’s advantage to just two points late in the fourth quarter, with Jackson’s steal and layup bringing Indiana within 106-104 with 1:36 remaining.
They even had an opportunity to take the lead, but Jackson missed a three-pointer with 43 seconds left. Onyeka Okongwu eventually secured Atlanta’s victory with a late jumper.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Hawks with 34 points. By the closing minutes, the physical toll on Indiana’s players was obvious. Smith suffered a calf cramp late in the game, while Walker finished with 44 minutes played. Even Jackson, who logged the fewest minutes of any Pacer, spent 34 minutes on the floor.
“These guys all played too many minutes,” Carlisle acknowledged afterward.
The defeat was Indiana’s fifth consecutive loss, dropping the team to 2-6. But the result almost felt secondary to the circumstances.
