Both the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers enter Monday night’s matchup in Indianapolis dealing with significant injury concerns.
Indiana enters the contest on a four-game losing streak, further hampered by absences across the roster. The Pacers trailed for the entirety of the second half during Sunday’s 98-90 home defeat to the previously winless Brooklyn Nets.
All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton remains sidelined with a hamstring strain and is expected to miss at least two weeks. Center Ivica Zubac is out with an ankle injury, and guard T.J. McConnell is also unavailable due to a hamstring issue.
Andrew Nembhard has assumed an expanded role in Haliburton’s absence, posting 23 points against Brooklyn. Pascal Siakam contributed 17 points, and Quenton Jackson added 12.
Despite the setback, Nembhard remained optimistic.
“The NBA moves quick,” Nembhard said. “Flip the page tomorrow, come in and work. It’s very early. I think there’s still a lot of excitement about our group getting better and peaking at the right time.”
Pacers forward Obi Toppin sat out a second straight game on Sunday due to back soreness. Even if Toppin is available Monday, head coach Rick Carlisle emphasized that a full-team effort will be required to end the losing streak.
“There’s a lot of challenges right now, but that’s what this whole thing is about,” Carlisle said. “It’s the NBA. Stuff is hard. We’ve all just got to work even harder at finding answers, finding ways.”
Atlanta may also need to lean on its depth Monday. The Hawks are evaluating forward Jalen Johnson’s status after he suffered a sprained left ankle in Saturday’s 121-99 road loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Johnson recorded 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists before leaving the game in the third quarter with the ankle injury.
Reserve center Jock Landale also exited Saturday’s game with a first-quarter hip injury and will miss Monday’s contest. Rookie Asa Newell entered the rotation and responded with 13 points and four rebounds.
Atlanta’s latest setback comes on the heels of an impressive 114-111 home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. Against New Orleans, the Hawks got off to a slow start, trailing 35-18 after the first quarter.
Atlanta shot just 38.5 percent from the field (35 of 91) and 17.4 percent from three-point range (8 of 46), while committing a season-high 19 turnovers that led to 34 points for New Orleans.
Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said he wants improved urgency to open Monday’s game.
“We haven’t started the game well from an execution standpoint,” Snyder said. “I think we’re putting ourselves in tough positions offensively, and (Saturday) that resulted in turnovers which were really tough to defend against.”
Atlanta will need improved three-point production from multiple players, including center Onyeka Okongwu. The 25-year-old remains confident in his long-range shooting despite going 0-for-5 against the Pelicans.
Okongwu is averaging 11.9 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 25.8 percent from three-point range this season, down from 37.6 percent last year.
“My teammates, coaches, everyone here, they want me to get them up. You know, that’s what I do and I’m very good at it,” Okongwu said. “So, just being confident, trusting the process, trusting the work, and knowing that even though some games my threes aren’t going down, just keep shooting them. It’ll go down eventually.”
