Pacers Injury Update: Monta Ellis close to return for Pacers

Monta Ellis has missed the last eight games with a strained groin, but the Pacers upgraded his status from out to questionable on Tuesday, leaving open the option that he may be available to play in Washington on Wednesday.

According to Nate Taylor, Ellis is not only going through work on the court while travelling with the team, but Nate McMillan hasn’t ruled him out to play against the Wizards.

“He’s starting to feel better,” McMillan said of Ellis. “Each day, the (training staff) adds on to what they are giving him. He wanted to go out there today and run with the team and he did. We’ll see how he feels (Wednesday).”

The Pacers hopes of getting a boost off the bench from Rodney Stuckey on Monday night were dashed quickly when Stuck re-aggravated his left hamstring while turning to sprint up the floor. After missing the prior five games, it would appear Stuckey will miss at least that many games going forward as he tries to rest and rehab the hammy to endure more than six minutes of game action.

The circumstances create a scenario for the Pacers to maintain their current starting lineup with Glenn Robinson III at shooting guard (or dabble with C.J. Miles) while using Monta off the bench. The reserve unit could use what Monta has to offer and he may even find life off the bench isn’t so bad.

The Pacers could really use a silver lining from the injury cloud to fall from the sky.