Ivica Zubac has played in just five games for the Indiana Pacers this season since they acquired him from the Los Angeles Clippers at this year's trade deadline. Unfortunately for him and Indiana, that is where it's going to end as the recently turned 29-year-old is reportedly expected to miss the rest of the season due to a fractured rib (h/t Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star).
"Per league source, Pacers center Ivica Zubac suffered a fractured rib in Wednesday's game against Portland and due to the anticipated healing time will miss the rest of the season," Dopirak wrote on X.
In his five games with the Pacers, Zubac averaged 11.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on 47.2% shooting from the field in 23.6 minutes.
Ivica Zubac's injury will hurt Pacers, even if their season is practically over
It's not like having Zubac on the court was going to bring the Pacers back to life this season. With a 15-55 record, they are the worst team in the NBA and were the first team to officially be eliminated from playoff contention this season. Even so, it would have been nice to see him suit up for the last month or so of the season.
Zubac is going to be a big part of Indiana's immediate future. The team needed an answer at center after Myles Turner joined the Milwaukee Bucks last summer, and it seems like the former second-rounder is that. Seeing him have some reps alongside players like Andrew Nembhard, Pascal Siakam, and Aaron Nesmith would have been nice to see, and it would've given them a bit of momentum in a down year.
With Zubac out, the Pacers will once again rely more heavily on Jay Huff and Micah Potter. And while it might be nice to see them take on a bigger role again, everybody already knows what they have to offer. We don't really need to see that much more of them for the rest of the season.
For the rest of this season, it's really not going to matter whether Zubac plays or not. The Pacers' position isn't going to get better (and in some ways, having him on the court might actually make things worse for their standing in the draft lottery), and letting him rest this injury will help out in the long run.
Still, there haven't been a ton of bright spots for the Pacers this season, and not being able to see their new starting center play more than five games for them isn't going to help.