Obi Toppin has been on the sidelines for the Indiana Pacers since Oct. 26 after suffering a foot injury. He could be available to make his return as soon as February, but as it stands, it might not be in Indiana's best interest to bring him back at all this season.
In a recent episode of the "Setting the Pace" podcast, Michael Facci suggested that it wouldn't make much sense for the Pacers to bring the New York native back at all this season, especially given their place in the standings.
"I don't think it makes sense. I really don't," Facci said about the possibility of Toppin returning this season. "I understand if you want to shake off some rust and do this, but it's just not worth it. ... It doesn't make sense to come back. Obviously you don't want it to translate into wins, and I think that it's an interesting situation to be in."
The Pacers may need to keep Obi Toppin out for the rest of the season
Currently, the Pacers are 6-27 and are in the midst of a nine-game losing streak. They own the worst record in the NBA and are 8.5 games behind the No. 10 seed Atlanta Hawks. Crazier things have happened, but at this point, it's safe to assume that Indiana will not be back in the postseason in 2026.
The thing is, though, that's not completely a bad thing. Nobody expected the Pacers to make another deep playoff run this season without Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner, and that's looking to be the case 100%. So instead of maybe sneaking in as a Play-In team, they can finish as one of the worst teams in the league, land a high draft pick, and potentially draft someone like AJ Dybantsa or Cam Boozer.
Bringing Toppin back would make the team better eventually, and in a strange way, that's almost not what the Pacers should want at this point. Plus, he's going to be an important part of their success moving forward once Haliburton comes back, and giving him as much rest as possible this season could pay dividends in the long run.
Like Toppin, Bennedict Mathurin suffered an injury very early in the season. Because of a toe injury, he missed roughly three weeks of action. Since his return, though, he hasn't been the same player he was before the injury. He has been far less dynamic and efficient, and it's hurting his stock.
Recently, the Canadian native said that the injury still bothers him, and there's a great chance that it's playing a role in his struggles. This is a risk the Pacers shouldn't want to make with Toppin, and the easy way for them to avoid it is to just keep him out for the rest of the season.
The Pacers are struggling greatly this season, but that ultimately might be a good thing. At this point, they should just let it ride for the rest of the campaign, continue their experimentation, and just shift their focus in the offseason. And in order for them to do so, they might have to keep Toppin on the shelf for bit longer than they may have anticipated.