The story of the Indiana Pacers’ 2-13 start to the season can be boiled down to a seemingly endless stream of disappointing injury reports.
Friday provides no exception, as the Pacers will once again be short-handed in their game against the 10-6 Cleveland Cavaliers.
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The Pacers will once again be without Tyrese Haliburton, Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith, Johnny Furphy, Kam Jones and Quenton Jackson, all of whom missed Wednesday’s win over the Charlotte Hornets.
Haliburton is out for the entirety of the 2025-26 season with an Achilles tear suffered in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. He is expected to return at full strength by the start of the 2026-27 season.
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Toppin is not expected to return to the team until February after undergoing surgery to repair a partial stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot. He played just three games this season before suffering the injury on Oct. 26 in the Pacers’ loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Same six guys are out for the Pacers tomorrow night — Haliburton, Toppin, Nesmith, Furphy, Jones, Jackson. For the Cavs, Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, and Jaylon Tyson are questionable. Sam Merrill and Max Strus are out.
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) November 21, 2025
Furphy is missing his ninth game after going down Nov. 3 with a left ankle sprain. The second-year guard had eight points and six rebounds between his only two appearances for the Pacers.
Jones has yet to make his NBA debut. The Pacers’ second-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft continues to miss time due to a lower back stress reaction suffered before the start of the season.
Jackson is missing his ninth straight game with a strained hamstring. There is no announced timetable for the 27-year-old to return.
Nesmith is expected to miss around a month after exiting the Pacers’ loss against the Phoenix Suns last Nov. 13 with a MCL sprain in his left knee. Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters that the injury was less severe than the Pacers initially feared.
“It’s likely going to be at least four weeks,” Carlisle said before Saturday’s home game against Toronto. “Talk to me on (December) the 15th. But it’s very good news — very, very good news. He’s not in a brace. He’s walking. I say it’s likely going to be four weeks. That doesn’t mean it couldn’t be less. It’s unclear at this time. But he’s doing very well, and the news was very, very good.”
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