Pacers suffer another injury! Toppin strains hamstring, out for at least a month; Mathurin’s toe injury evaluated weekly

On October 29th Beijing time, Pacers head coach Carlisle revealed, as reported by Dopilak, that two vital rotation players will be unavailable in the short term: forward Toppin is out for at least a month with a right hamstring injury; guard Mathurin suffered a sprained right big toe and his return will be evaluated weekly.

When the Pacers began the new season last week, they had already prepared for star point guard Haliburton to miss the entire year as he recovers from a torn Achilles. Now, additional players have been added to the team’s injury list.

Toppin’s injury occurred during the loss to the Timberwolves, while Mathurin was hurt stepping on Randall’s foot while driving to the basket in the defeat against the Grizzlies. Carlisle stated that after the team’s final road game in Dallas on Thursday, both players will undergo further examinations back home.

“I can’t give an exact timeline for their returns,” Carlisle said, “but they will definitely be out for a period of time.”

Carlisle also mentioned that Nembhard (left shoulder strain) has started some “on-court work” but isn’t ready to play yet; Peter (right groin strain) is “making progress” but still “not at game-ready level.” He added that FuFie (left foot soreness) will receive additional foot evaluations once the team returns to Indianapolis.

Dopilak further noted that McConnell (left hamstring strain) and Cam Jones (lower back stress reaction) participated in partial practice near the end of today’s session, though the Pacers have already confirmed that both players won’t return until at least November 10th.

With injuries affecting nearly every position except center, the Pacers have made roster moves: waiving frontcourt player Wiseman and signing guard McClung. The team will soon be eligible to apply for at least one “hardship exception.”

The “hardship exception” allows a team to temporarily exceed the 15-player roster limit if at least four players are sidelined for three consecutive games due to health issues and expected to miss at least two more weeks. Players signed under this exception receive 10-day contracts.