The Pacers continue to be ravaged by point guard injuries. The team announced (via Twitter) that Andrew Nembhard has been ruled out for the second half of Thursday’s regular season opener against Oklahoma City due to left shoulder soreness.
Ben Sheppard, who missed most of the preseason with an undisclosed injury, started the second half in Nembhard’s stead, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.
Second-round pick Taelon Peter has also been getting minutes with Nembhard and several other players out, notes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (via Twitter).
In addition to star Tyrese Haliburton, who will miss the 2025/26 entire season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, veteran backup T.J. McConnell is at least a couple more weeks from returning from a left hamstring strain he sustained earlier this month. Second-rounder Kam Jones (back issue) and fourth-year guard Quenton Jackson (right hamstring soreness) are hurt as well, though the latter’s injury isn’t believed to be serious.
Indiana originally intended to sign Monte Morris to compete for a roster spot as the third-string point guard behind Nembhard and McConnell, but the deal fell through before training camp when Morris suffered a calf strain. Veteran Delon Wright was signed instead, but was released a couple weeks later after he took two brutal blows to the head during the Pacers’ preseason opener, resulting in 10 stitches above his right eye and four on his right elbow.
While it’s unclear if Nembhard will miss additional time as a result of his shoulder issue, it’s obviously not a great sign that he was forced to leave the matchup against the defending champions. The 25-year-old averaged 10.0 points, 5.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 65 games last season (28.9 minutes per contest).