Pacers find the road rough, with more injuries after loss to Grizzlies
The Pacers lost two more backcourt players in Memphis on Saturday, but may get one back on Sunday in Minneapolis.
In game two, the Pacers season took a turn for the depressing after adding two more players to their backcourt injury list during a 128-103 loss to the Grizzlies on Saturday evening.
After scoring 26 points in 27 minutes, Bennedict Mathurin exited the game which what would later be diagnosed as a great toe sprain on his right foot. Earlier in the action, Taelon Peter came up lame with strained groin halting his sudden ascension in the playing rotation.
With so many guards out and a center rotation that is crawling to keep up, there was lots of messy confusion on the floor as the Grizzlies took over control of the game in the third quarter. Still, the Pacers only had 13 turnovers in the game and shot decently from the floor.
But, similar to the Thunder game, defending the paint remains a problem as the Grizz outscored the Pacers 56-36 in points in the paint, while also outscoring the Pacers by nine in second chance points.
The Pacers move on to Minnesota for their first back-to-back game just trying to survive day-to-day. RayJ Dennis is the last point guard standing, but it appears Quenton Jackson may be available to play against the Timberwolves. That news alone finally stems the flow of negative news hampering the start of the Pacers season.
It would be nice if Johnny Furphy could return from his balky ankle with all of the minutes currently available for the second-year player to get some reps in the regular season. The team remains at least a few weeks away from TJ McConnell’s return and Andrew Nembhard’s status as far as return time remains unknown.
The only good news in this doom and gloom injury situation is that these players are expected to return and we will eventually get to see some regular rotations, executing at a much higher level than what we had to witness on Saturday.
Unfortunately, that likely won’t happen on Sunday in Minny nor in any of the upcoming games over the next couple of weeks at least. So, ready or not the Pacers take on the Timberwolves with their full complement of starters and just one player on the injury report.
Hmm, sounds kinda like the game the Pacers played in Minny last season…and won thanks to an Obi Toppin otherworldly performance. Yep, I’m saying there’s a chance.
Pacers vs. Timberwolves
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
When: Sunday, October 26, 2025 - 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers +10.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: RayJ Dennis, Ben Sheppard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Isaiah Jackson
Timberwolves: Donte DiVincenzo, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert
Injuries
Pacers: Quenton Jackson (hammy) - probable, Taelon Peter (groin) - out, Johnny Furphy (ankle) - out, Bennedict Mathurin (toe) - questionable, Andrew Nembhard (shoulder) - out, TJ McConnell (hammy) - out, Kam Jones (back) - out, Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles) - out
Timberwolves: Rob Dillingham (nose) - questionable