Aaron Nesmith planning to return from injury Saturday in Miami
Good news, at last, on the injury front for the Indiana Pacers. But not without ruling out another key player.
It has not been a good December for the Indiana Pacers.
They’ve lost seven straight games, dropping them to the bottom of the NBA standings — yes, even below the Washington Wizards, who blew out the Toronto Raptors by 21 points on Friday.
Although the Pacers (6-25) had no games on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day — they haven’t played on Christmas Day in more than two decades — they are in the middle of a taxing stretch that includes two back-to-backs this week.
“We got to play better,” head coach Rick Carlisle said Friday after an 18-point home loss to the Boston Celtics. “When you get a start like that, it's always going to be a challenge to sustain it. But we made some mistakes that were critical mistakes…”
The Pacers wrap up that four-game stretch Saturday night (8 p.m. ET) in Miami, though their travel was not smooth. The team’s flight was delayed nearly two hours, meaning the Pacers likely didn’t reach their hotel until close to 4 a.m. local time — with another game tipping off roughly 16 hours later.
However, there is some good news. For once.
