George Hill, Ian Mahinmi, Rodney Stuck All Out vs. Denver

The Indiana Pacers will be without two starters and their sixth man as they face the Denver Nuggets.

The Indiana Pacers have lost three of their last four as they begin a four-game road trip against Western Conference foes. Things won’t get much easier even after they return to the friendly confines of The Fieldhouse, as the Los Angeles Clipper and Atlanta Hawks come to town.

So it very bad news that they will be without three key players, including starters George Hill and Ian Mahinmi, as they head up the mountain to play at elevation in Denver against a Nuggets team that recently beat the Golden State Warriors.

According to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star, George Hill is not with the team due to a personal situation, Ian Mahinmi will sit out with a sore left heel, and Rodney Stuckey is still far from returning to the court due to an ankle injury that is expected to keep him out for at least another 10 days.

Paul George is expected to play, but even he is not at 100% after sitting out practice yesterday with a calf issue that caused him to leave the court and head for the locker room during Friday’s blowout loss to the Wizards.

There is no word on who will start in the place of Hill and Mahinmi, but Buckner projects that rookies Myles Turner and Joe Young will get a larger chance to prove what they’ve got. Young, in particular, doesn’t get much time since there are so many ballhandlers ahead of him in the rotation, but now Monta Ellis is really the only other guard available.

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I would expect Ellis, Paul George, and C.J. Miles to start on the perimeter alongside Jordan Hill and one of Turner or Lavoy Allen. But the team is going to need all hands on deck — like Chase Budinger, Glenn Robinson, III and Solomon Hill — to step up as well, particularly if George Hill and Mahinmi miss any more games on this critical road trip.

The Pacers are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference and will likely find themselves outside of the playoff picture, at least temporarily, if they botch this four-game swing away from home.