Pacers' Rick Carlisle Refuses to Reveal Rotation Decision vs 76ers

Ahead of their Saturday evening tilt against the Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle opted to keep his starting small forward decision a mystery for attendant reporters.
Carlisle: "We gotta get Aaron back up to full speed. That will be a process. Right now, we're probably going to have lineup fluidity. I'm not going to talk about what we're doing tonight. Going forward we have a lot of capable guys."
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) January 18, 2025
Swingman Aaron Nesmith, who began the season as the club's starter at the position before incurring an ankle sprain that cost him two months of on-court action, did start (on a minutes limit) in his first game back, a 111-100 Pacers victory on Thursday over the chippy young Detroit Pistons. Bennedict Mathurin, who had been starting for Nesmith during his absence and scoring in bunches, missed the contest due to a one-game suspension.
"We gotta get Aaron back up to full speed," Carlisle told reporters, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. "That will be a process. Right now, we're probably going to have lineup fluidity. I'm not going to talk about what we're doing tonight. Going forward we have a lot of capable guys."
"Stay tuned," Carlisle told reporters, per Dopirak, "I have zero [concern] about finding minutes for players."
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In for Mathurin as a reserve, Ben Sheppard has earned a rotation spot with his play of late. As Dopirak observes, the return of Nesmith to the Pacers' rotation makes for an 11-man lineup — even during the regular season, that's a bit much for a non-Steve Kerr-coached squad.
So just to wrap that all in a bow, Carlisle not saying anything about how he's going to handle minutes going forward with Nesmith back and effectively 11 guys in the rotation, but says he'll make it work. Communication will be key. Said it's a good problem to have.
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) January 18, 2025
On the Philadelphia side, the 76ers are grappling with a litany of injuries. The most notable absence is seven-time All-Star center Joel Embiid, who's been out for two weeks and will miss at least one more with left knee swelling.
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76ers forward Caleb Martin, swingman KJ Martin, point guard Kyle Lowry, and shooting guard Jared McCain will all sit out this matchup, per the league's latest injury report.
According to Dopirak, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse had yet to provide a final availability status update for forwards Guerschon Yabusele (right knee swelling) and Paul George (left groin tightness), both of whom are questionable to suit up.
Nick Nurse says there's no update on Paul George and Guerschon Yabusele, who are listed as questionable. Said they'll go through their warm-ups and they'll make decisions after that.
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) January 18, 2025
Across his seven healthy bouts this year, Nesmith has been averaging 9.1 points on .550/.571/.857 shooting splits, 3.6 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game.
The bout tips off at 7 p.m. ET.
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