Indiana Pacers: Is it time to worry about Domantas Sabonis’ injuries?

Dating back to the end of last season, Domantas Sabonis has been the key for the Indiana Pacers, especially on offense. Unfortunately, his 2019-20 season was cut short due to an injury that left him out of the bubble restart.

Sabonis returned to start this season despite a plantar fascia injury that has not been uncommon to the Pacers. Just this season alone, T.J. Warren and Myles Turner have missed time with similar injuries. For Sabonis, his return was met with a ton of minutes early on, which may not be a great thing for his future.

Should the Indiana Pacers be worried about Domantas Sabonis?

Nate Bjorkgren entered his first season as head coach of the Pacers with one goal in mind apparently, and that was to get the most out of his best players. In the first few months of the season, Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon were among the league leaders in minutes per game and were crucial in key moments for Indiana.

Looking back now, those minutes for Sabonis were interesting. He was coming off a plantar injury that has been a major issue for big men, as well as other foot injuries, in the NBA but was not preserved by the coaching staff. Yao Ming and Joakim Noah were the first players to come to mind when considering the impact of Sabonis’ first injury.

Him missing the playoff series was a killer for the Pacers as they failed to make any noise against the Heat, getting swept and sent back home. This season, with things falling apart across the board, Domantas Sabonis has come up with another potentially scary injury. T.J. Warren was ruled out for the season and Myles Turner may be next in line for the same ruling, but Sabonis is in danger of it as well.

Sabonis has now missed five straight games with a back injury. While we do not know the severity of the “soreness” that has been reported, it does beg the question of his stability and season-long health. If he continues to break down at the end of the season, his value to this team, or any team in the league, drops quite a bit. Not having your best player in the playoffs or at the end of the season when you’re fighting for a playoff spot is an absolute crusher.

I’m not saying Sabonis is not worth keeping around or that he should be moved immediately, but the Pacers should definitely look into his health and determine if his long-term risk is worth building around. The Pacers have a very bad history of injuries, especially recently, and investing your future in a player with clear injury concerns is not going to make that any better.