The NBA trade deadline is still three months away, but the injury-plagued Indiana Pacers may be forced to test the waters sooner rather than later.
Indiana’s injury list continues to grow ahead of the Pacers’ matchup against the host Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.
Dallas was able to rest its starters for much of the fourth quarter on Sunday, when the Mavericks led by as many as 33 points in a 108-85 win over the visiting Orlando Magic.
Mavericks star Luka Doncic scored 25 points in the first half and finished with 32 to go with nine rebounds and seven assists in 32 minutes.
“Today was real fun,” Doncic said. “We were guarding everybody, defending, rebounding and playing with a lot of pace. So that’s fun for me.”
Indiana will look to regroup after losing 125-118 to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.
Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (left ankle sprain) and center Isaiah Jackson exited the game due to injury.
Nesmith has been ruled out for Monday’s contest, while Jackson will miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a torn right Achilles tendon.
The Pacers also could face the Mavericks minus guard Andrew Nembhard, who is dealing with knee tendinitis.
Jackson, who is averaging 7.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks a game, is the second Pacers center to suffer a torn Achilles tendon this season. James Wiseman tore his Achilles in the season opener against the Detroit Pistons.
The Pacers’ lack of depth in the frontcourt was an issue in the loss to New Orleans as Pelicans star Zion Williamson scored 34 points on 14-of-20 shooting from the field.
“The game had a lot of good stretches for us, but we weren’t able to sustain those good stretches,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “Rebounding was a problem again. We struggled with Williamson and (Brandon) Ingram, and it cost us.”
One bright spot was the play of Ben Sheppard, who made six 3-pointers and led the Pacers with 20 points. The second-year guard likely has earned a larger role in Carlisle’s rotation.
“He’s just been very consistent,” Carlisle said. “If you look at the plus-minus every night, he’s usually a plus because of how hard he plays. He plays within our system and takes the right shots. Defensively he really busts his butt out there. And he’s one of our better rebounders, and that really helps us, too.”
Carlisle coached Dallas to its only NBA championship in 2011, when the Mavericks beat the Miami Heat in six games.
Dallas guard Klay Thompson is settling in with his new team following 11 seasons with the Golden State Warriors. Thompson was held to nine points on 4-of-10 shooting in Sunday’s win over Orlando, but Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was pleased with the performance.
“I thought he played a great game,” Kidd said. “I know we look at him for scoring and shooting threes, but I thought his play-making, his energy was high. He was moving on both ends at a very high level. I thought his defense was really good.”
Dallas also received a strong outing from forward Daniel Gafford, who scored a season-high 18 points. Center Dereck Lively II had 11 points and 11 rebounds as Dallas won for the fourth time in its first six games.
