Indiana Pacers news: T.J. Warren out indefinitely after surgery

Indiana Pacers forward T.J. Warren will miss some time.

After missing Thursday’s game against the Cavs, Indiana Pacers forward T.J. Warren will undergo surgery on his left foot and miss time. According to Woj, Warren is getting surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot, the same foot that has limited his playing time this season with plantar fasciitis.

Warren’s injury came during training camp and forced him to miss the preseason. He played in each of the team’s first four games but missed the New Year’s Eve outing at home against Cleveland. Aaron Holiday started in his absence and put up a solid performance, so hopefully, that can continue moving forward.

The Pacers were held back last season due to injury and that is really the only obstacle keeping them from the top-four of the Eastern Conference. With Jeremy Lamb also sidelined with an injury, the Pacers have hardly any wing depth heading into 2021.

Justin Holiday and Doug McDermott have been the primary wing depth pieces for Indiana up to this point and have done a nice job so far this season. In his absence on Thursday, McDermott scored 18 points and played well on the defensive end, helping Indiana pull out the win in the second half.

Warren is a vital piece for the Pacers as he led the team in scoring last season and was starting to play well after a slow start this season. With an injury at the team’s shallowest position, the Pacers are set up for a long season but have enough players to compete at a high level still. They put away Cleveland in the second half following a strong performance all around as all five starters scored in double figures.

The Pacers starting lineup has not played much together over the past two seasons and that is certainly going to be a trend this season, it appears. Warren and Lamb will be out for the foreseeable future while Victor Oladipo likely will not play in both games of a back-to-back.