Pacers links: Pacers rest Bogdanovic on second day of preseason practice

The Pacers made good on their word to monitor the preseason effort exerted by forward Bojan Bogdanovic by holding him out of practice on Wednesday.

The injury reason for sitting was rest and not the ankle he tweaked during FIBA play with Croatia, nor the knee pain that scared him at one point. But no doubt, both of those issues combined with the late summer minutes played a role, as J. Michael reported.

Bogdanovic went down twice in a Sept. 17 game against Poland. He turned over the ball and, to stop a fast break, jumped and kicked out his legs to prevent the outlet. Afterward he was limping on the right leg but stayed in the game.

Then came the drive to the rim in transition where he came down cleanly but the trailing defender who’d attempted to block his shot landed on his right leg and foot. Bogdanovic curled up on the floor in pain. He was able to get to the bench without assistance and was able to return after halftime.

”I thought I broke my knee. When I sat on the bench I felt my ankle (ache),” Bogdanovic said. “Now my calf is sore.”

Assuming those injury issues remain dormant, resting Bogey at this point helps since he is already in game shape and quite comfortable with what the Pacers are doing after a strong season with the team last year. His absence then allows newcomers Doug McDermott and Tyreke Evans more time to work with different lineup combinations to learn and adjust to their new team.

As long as rest remains the reason for Bogey’s time off the court, the Pacers are off to a good start from an injury standpoint (feel free to knock on the nearest wood surface). Surviving preseason healthy is always a concern which hit the Pacers last year after Glenn Robinson III hurt his ankle and ended up missing the first 58 games of the year -- and essentially never returned to impact the team -- forcing the team to adjust without a versatile wing player they hoped would be part of the regular rotation.

Check out the links:

Pacers hold out Bojan Bogdanovic after rigorous offseason for Croatia

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