Indiana Pacers reserve center Jeff Foster will not be with the team when they tip off their road trip against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, according to a tweet from the Pacers.
#Pacers Injury Update: Jeff Pendergraph (concussion) is day-to-day and Jeff Foster (back) is out and will not make trip.
UPDATE: Conrad Brunner tweets Foster will not be making the trip and instead be on the shelf for two weeks after having a back procedure. Check out Pacers.com for more.
The Pacers and Foster continue working through back issues that have hampered Mr. Pacer the past couple of years. After signing a one-year deal for this season, it seemed understood that the Pacers planned to make the playoffs and wanted Foster ready to go in the post season but that would require managing his workload in the regular season. Not travelling with the team, though may mean that the general "back" issue cited for missed games is more than a euphemism for "keeping Foster fresh for more meaningful minutes."
So far Foster has played in just five of the team's 12 games, but his impact is noticeable with a more productive second unit when he's on the floor. His raw box score numbers may not show it, but believe me he has an impact on both ends of the floor. In fact, the Pacers are 4-1 in games with Foster and despite the fact that he only plays around 15 minutes per game, his on-floor +/- is +43 in those five games. Not a bad boost off the bench.
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