Coming into this season, the one position that the Indiana Pacers could not afford to have injuries at is the point guard spot. With Tyrese Haliburton out for the entire year, they have very little depth there.
That’s why the Pacers ended up signing Delon Wright before the first preseason game against the Timberwolves. They ended up releasing him after he got hurt in that game.
Prior to Wright exiting that game with his scary injury, T.J. McConnell left the game with a hamstring injury in what was the worst-case scenario. Now, the Pacers know how long he’ll be out.
According to Rick Carlisle, McConnell will be out at least a month with his hamstring injury. That would indicate that it’s at least a grade two hamstring strain.
This injury is a disaster for the Pacers before the season has even started. Last season, they had a cacophony of injuries that cascaded down on them to start the year, too.
Without McConnell, the Pacers don’t have anyone they can trust to start the regular season. If he’s out at least a month, that means he’ll miss a minimum of the first 10 games of the year.
That means the Pacers will have to either rely on Quenton Jackson or the recently signed Cameron Payne to be the backup to Andrew Nembhard to begin this season.
The Pacers might use different lineup combinations to combat the loss of McConnell
Without both Haliburton and McConnell, the Carlisle might need to get funky with how he configures his rotation. He might try some combinations the Pacers have never used before.
Could they try using Jarace Walker as a point forward off the bench? Will Pascal Siakam have the ball in his hands more if he plays with the second unit? These are things that must be considered.
McConnell is the engine of this team. He’s the player that the fans love the most off the bench, and he gives the home crowd more energy than anyone else, especially when he makes defensive plays.
Last season, McConnell averaged 9.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game.