Pacers injury update: C.J. Watson reportedly out against Rockets; George Hill, Paul George expect to play

The Pacers are battling through a few nagging injuries with a few key players in their rotation, but for the second consecutive game, C.J. Watson will be out with a sprained elbow, according to reports from Houston.

No C.J. Watson tonight for @Pacers George Hill not 100% but, "gotta get out there and do what it takes to try to help this team win a game"

— Jeremiah Johnson (@JJFSINDIANA) March 7, 2014

George Hill continues trying to play through a shoulder injury he aggravated in the Pacers win over Milwaukee last Fridayon which forced Hill to miss two games. According to Candace Buckner, Paul George was quick to put ice on his sore back after the team's shootaround and didn't report any improvement since he complained about the tightness in Charlotte.

With Watson out of the rotation, it appears Frank Vogel will rely on Evan Turner to pick up the play-making duties with the reserve unit as he did in Charlotte.

Expect to see more of that Stephenson-Turner backcourt with Watson out. Asked if Donald Sloan is in rotation & Vogel only said: "Could be."

— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) March 7, 2014

The game in Charlotte was an outlier in a lot of ways so it is hard to take anything from what Vogel did with regard to the playing rotations. The Pacers like to say they are a "no excuses" team so we'll see if they can play like it in Houston.