Rick Carlisle talks about TJ McConnell’s injury concerns after the loss to the Cavs
The Indiana Pacers we have been playing better basketball lately, and the credit is that the team is at least a little bit healthier. Among those who returned after some time long absence is backup point guard TJ McConnellwho contributed quite well to this short Pacers team. However, in Monday night’s 135-119 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, McConnell was on the court for all six minutes as the team lacked his energy and play.
With McConnell playing just six minutes, many Pacers fans were concerned he might have re-aggravated the hamstring injury that kept him out of the first 10 games of the 2025-26 season. However, the head coach Rick Carlisle explained that there is no such problem. According to Scott Agness of the Fieldhouse Files, McConnell has it simple feeling some lingering effects of the Pacers’ back-to-back weekend sweep with good wins over the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls.
“He was a little sore after those two games (from the back-to-back). He warmed him up … he said he was fine. But when he started playing, he just didn’t look it,” Carlisle said. Hopefully he will be ready for Wednesday, but there are no injuries.
Considering how traumatized the Pacers have been with injuries so far, this should at least give them a breather. Barring an unforeseen twist, McConnell should be active for Indiana on Wednesday when they face the Denver Nuggets at 7:00 PM ET
The Pacers have failed to extend their winning streak to three as Donovan Mitchell runs amok
The Pacers’ defense hasn’t been nearly as good as it was last year, and that’s largely due to their injury woes, as well as the loss of Myles Turner in free agency. And with McConnell out, Indiana didn’t have the firepower to keep up with the Cavs’ explosive offense that saw Donovan Mitchell leads with 43 points.
Indiana appeared to be turning a corner, but they return to the regular season for the 2025-26 season with another double-digit loss. This 16-point loss to the Cavs was their 10th double-digit loss of the season.
2025-12-02 03:27:00
