INDIANAPOLIS — Pacers forwards Aaron Nesmith and Jarace Walker did very little at Tuesday’s practice and will sit out Wednesday’s game against the Bulls in Chicago due to their respective injuries, coach Rick Carlisle said after practice.<\/p>\n
“Those guys will be out tomorrow,” Carlisle said.<\/p>\n
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Point guard Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell have also been ruled out due to nagging injuries according to the injury report released Tuesday evening. Nembhard is listed as out with a low back injury and McConnell is out with right hamstring soreness. Forwards Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin are listed as probable.<\/p>\n
Nesmith and Walker also sat out Sunday’s win over the Heat. Nesmith is out with a cervical strain that Carlisle said he suffered in a game last week but didn’t become a major problem until he woke up feeling particularly sore Sunday morning. Walker left Friday’s game against the Clippers early when he fell and hit his head on a dunk. Evaluations found that he did not have to enter concussion protocol but he did have a low back bruise.<\/p>\n
Nesmith is third on the team in scoring with 13.8 points per game. Walker is fourth among players who have appeared in at least 30 games with the Pacers with 11.5 points per game. He’s also averaging 5.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.<\/p>\n
Nesmith has started 42 of the 45 games he’s appeared in this season, though he’s missed extensive time with injuries. This will be just the third game this season Walker has missed, and he has started in 38 of his 73 appearances. With those two out Sunday, the Pacers started two two-way contract players in guard Ethan Thompson and forward Jalen Slawson along with guards Andrew Nembhard and Quenton Jackson and All-Star forward Pascal Siakam.<\/p>\n
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Nembhard is second on the Pacers in scoring with 16.9 points per game and first in assists with 7.7 per game. McConnell is averaging 9.4 points and 5.1 assists per game off the bench. With those two out, the Pacers have Quenton Jackson, Ben Sheppard, Kam Jones, Taelon Peter and Ethan Thompson as potential point guard options.<\/p>\n