The Pacers are an Injury Mess Again

With six players already on the injury report for the Indiana Pacers, the list grew even longer before tonight’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks.

The team officially reported that Pascal Siakam (rest), Andrew Nembhard (cervical injury management) and Aaron Nesmith (left hamstring injury management) would miss tonight’s game. In addition to those three starters, backup-center Larry Nance Jr. was listed as doubtful with an illness.

With this being the Pacers second night of a back-to-back and their third game in four nights, the team is electing to err on the side of caution versus trot out their heavy-minutes players on little rest.

Erring on the Side of Caution

Nov 1, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) reacts the a call from the bench against the Brooklyn Nets during the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The surprising amount of injuries across the league has only encouraged teams to be wiser about how often they’re playing their key players, and after seeing Tyrese Haliburton hurt himself in the second night of a back-to-back with a hamstring injury, the organization is making a bigger-picture decision instead of trying to overextend players for a regular season victory.

Seeing an injury report like this last season wasn’t surprising as the team was fighting to give themselves the best possible odds to land a top-four pick. There is zero reason to believe that Indiana is “tanking” this early into the year. They’re focusing on long-term health with a long road trip ahead of them after tonight’s game, where they’re traveling to Memphis, Mexico City and Dallas.

Toppin Likely Back

Oct 28, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin (1) shoots the ball while Philadelphia 76ers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (1) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On the positive side, Obi Toppin remains questionable on the injury report with a lumbar sprain. He could come back, and would arguably be their best player on the court if he did, but you’d have to expect a strict minutes restriction after missing the last two games.

The seven players available for tonight’s game are: Quenton Jackson, Braden Smith, Kelly Oubre Jr., Jarace Walker, Jay Huff, Jalen Slawson and Kobe Brown. It should be noted, that the league requires eight players to be available for the game, so this would likely mean that Toppin is made available.

Your projected starters for tonight are Jackson, Oubre, Walker, Toppin and Huff. With Smith, Brown and Slawson as the only available substitutes.

Pacers Top 6 OUT for Game Against Hawks

This means that all of the Pacers’ projected starting five will be out and their sixth man in T.J. McConnell.

If you weren’t aware, here is the full injury report that the team shared on Monday afternoon:

Obi Toppin - Questionable (lumbar sprain)
Larry Nance Jr. - Doubtful (illness)
Andrew Nembhard - Out (cervical injury mangement) Aaron Nesmith - Out (left hamstring injury management) Pascal Siakam - Out (rest)
Tyrese Haliburton - Out (left hamstring strain)
Ben Sheppard - Out (left meniscus surgery)
Johnny Furphy - Out (right ACL repair/surgery)
T.J. McConnell - Out (right hamstring strain)
Ivica Zubac - Out (left ankle sprain).

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