On Dec. 30th, 2021, the Indiana Pacers announced new players entering health and safety protocols, including Malcolm Brogdon, Chris Duarte, and Isaiah Jackson.
Jeremy Lamb was added to this list just a few days prior.
Now, all three players except for Isaiah Jackson have returned to the Indiana Pacers after being cleared on Jan. 05.
Although they were cleared from the protocols, they will have to go through some reconditioning before returning to the court. They did not play against the Nets although were out of the protocols.
Rick Carlise gave an update on their status before the game against Brooklyn.
"“None of the three will play tonight. We’ve got to ramp them back up. The hope is that we can get them as ready as possible for Saturday.”"
This would make it their fourth game missed for COVID-19 reasons and the Pacers are now on a six-game losing streak. They hold a record of 14 wins, 25 losses.
Their record is sixth-worst in the NBA – only above the Pistons, Magic, Pelicans, Rockets, and Thunder.
Of course, the positive outcome of losing these players was getting to see Lance Stephenson back in an Indiana Pacers uniform.
However, this also means that his 10-day contract is that much closer to ending – playing in his third game in four days.
The Indiana Pacers front office will certainly have to take a look at keeping Stephenson for the rest of the season after he scored nearly a career-high 30 points – 20 of which came in the first quarter.
If they re-sign him or not, Lance came back to Indiana and gave the state everything they could have wanted out of his contract.
Win or lose, Lance Stephenson just gave Indiana everything it wanted out of his 10-day contract. #Pacers
— Zach Pearson (@zapearsonNBA) January 6, 2022
Another bright spot found in the absence of Brogdon, Keifer Sykes stepping up into the starting lineup and making the most out of the opportunity.
After a slow start in his first couple of games, he is showing exactly what the Pacers need from the backup point guard spot. Sykes is averaging 16.7 points and 5.3 assists in the last three games he started.
One of my favorite assists he has made came last night against Brooklyn while running the pick and roll with Myles Turner.
After scoring 22 points against the Knicks, Sykes had this to say about his opportunity.
"“I’m not just here to survive, I’m here to thrive. I am going to continue to work on my game, I want to be in the NBA for a long time. I’m going to continue that mindset and outwork everybody”."
What can the Indiana Pacers expect from the return of Brogdon, Duarte, and Lamb?
First off, depth. The Pacers were missing nine players last night against Brooklyn, with four remaining in health and safety protocols and another two with officially listed injuries (three if you include T.J. Warren).
The biggest impact will be Brogdon and Duarte getting inserted back into the starting lineup. Keifer Sykes and Duane Washington Jr. have been in those spots in their absence after Caris LeVert went out in COVID-19 protocols as well.
Malcolm Brogdon has not played a game since Dec. 21st, 2021, against Miami. Before he was out for COVID-19 reasons, he was battling that sore Achilles tendon so the break for him was likely much needed.
He has missed seven games in this stretch.
Jeremy Lamb was playing a solid stretch of minutes off the bench before leaving as well. He averaged 9.7 points per game and 3.7 assists.
He can help the Pacers create off the bench, but Lamb could also now be battling Lance Stephenson for playing time if he continues to perform at the level he did last night.
The Pacers’ schedule won’t get much easier either, they face the Utah Jazz on Saturday, then the Celtics twice, and end the week with the Suns.
Fortunately for Indiana, they will still have Lance Stephenson playing at home in a Pacers uniform, and Malcolm Brogdon, Chris Duarte, and Jeremy Lamb will return hopefully by this Saturday.