Indiana Pacers: Justin Holiday’s injury causes even more concern
By Luke Parrish
The Indiana Pacers are prepping for Justin Holiday to miss some time with an ankle injury that he suffered in the preseason. Holiday was expected to replace T.J. Warren in the starting lineup until Warren was healthy and now the Pacers are digging deep for an answer.
Indiana has now dealt with four injuries in the preseason and have no clear answers for their starting lineup on opening night. Two starters are expected to miss the start of the season, Edmond Sumner was injured and subsequently traded, and now Justin Holiday is out with an ankle injury sustained against the Cavaliers.
What do the Indiana Pacers do now?
In their second preseason matchup, the Pacers gave Chris Duarte the start in place of Jeremy Lamb who got the nod in their first exhibition. Duarte has been incredible in his first few months with the organization and the starting spot should be his to lose until the usual starters are healthy.
Getting him into the mix in place of Lamb was the right call as it allows Duarte to develop some chemistry with the starters. Now with Justin Holiday also leaving the starting lineup, who is going to get the final starting opportunity for the Pacers when the season starts?
Oshae Brissett is certainly a candidate to get that nod right now but Torrey Craig would be my bet as things stand. Craig is a stud defensively and he got 19 minutes against the Cavaliers while Brissett only logged 12 and shot poorly from the field.
Either way, this is a disaster scenario for the Pacers and the season hasn’t even started yet. With four injuries to the core of the rotation, it is going to be a slow start to the new campaign but they have the depth to survive for a bit.
The good news is that Holiday’s injury should not keep him out for very long, though he is expected to be sidelined nonetheless. Things are not going to be easy in the Eastern Conference so getting off to a slow start with a depleted roster is far from ideal, especially considering the season the Pacers just had.