Siakam, Avdija, Nembhard, Nesmith & Murray's status revealed ahead of Pacers-Blazers

The Indiana Pacers announced that Pascal Siakam (wrist), Andrew Nembhard (back) and Aaron Nesmith (ankle) will all be available to play in Sunday night's matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers.

For the Blazers, forwards Deni Avdija (back) and Kris Murray (illness) will both be available to suit up as well.

ANALYSIS

Here's the rest of the injury report and game preview:

INJURY REPORT

PACERS

Pascal Siakam: Available - Wrist

Andrew Nembhard: Available - Back

Aaron Nesmith: Available - Ankle

Ivica Zubac: Out - Ankle

Johnny Furphy: Out - Knee

Tyrese Haliburton: Out - Achilles

BLAZERS

Deni Avdija: Questionable - Back

Kris Murray: Questionable - Illness

Shaedon Sharpe: Out - Calf

Damian Lillard: Out - Achilles

Game date, time and location: Sunday, Mar. 8, 8:00 p.m. CST, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Indiana, KUNP 16 (Portland)

Radio: 93.5 FM/107.5 FM (Indiana), Rip City Radio 620 AM (Portland)

VITALS: The Indiana Pacers (15-48) and Portland Trail Blazers (30-34) meet for the first of two regular season matchups.

The Pacers are 38-61 all-time versus the Blazers during the regular season, including 27-23 in home games and 11-38 in road games. The Pacers split the season series against the Blazers in the 2024-2025 regular season and lost the series in 2023-2024.

PROJECTED STARTERS

PACERS

G Andrew Nembhard

G Aaron Nesmith

C Jay Huff

F Jarace Walker

F Pascal Siakam

BLAZERS

G Jrue Holiday

G Scoot Henderson

C Donovan Clingan

F Toumani Camara

F Jerami Grant

Betting Lines (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Spread: Pacers +8.5 (-110), Blazers -8.5 (-110)

Moneyline: Pacers +285, Blazers -360

Total points scored: 236.5 (over -108, under -112)

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

QUOTABLE

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on Jarace Walker and Pascal Siakam: "Pascal's a guy that he looks up to. Pascal's taken a genuine interest in Jarace and his career, development, evolution as a professional. Jarace has been through a lot of the ups and downs that come with being a young player in the NBA, from not playing, to playing sometimes, then playing a lot and then having that elevated responsibility and I believe what happens is, in a lot of cases, you gain an element of humility going through all those things."

Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Indiana Pacers On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Miami Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket