LOS ANGELES — Pacers starters Pascal Siakam, Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard will all be available for Wednesday’s game against the Clippers, coach Rick Carlisle said in his pre-game press conference. It will be the first time all three players will be available since their Feb. 10 overtime win over the Knicks in New York.
All three players were listed as questionable in the injury report. Siakam hasn’t played since suffering a left thumb sprain against the Mavericks on Feb. 22. Nesmith hasn’t played since suffering a right ankle sprain on Feb. 20 against the Wizards. Nembhard missed Sunday’s game against the Grizzlies with low back and neck soreness. They are the Pacers’ three leading scorers currently on the team as Siakam leads the Pacers with 23.9 points per game, Nembhard averages 17.4 per game and Nesmith averages 13.2 per game. The Pacers will be playing against Bennedict Mathurin, whose 17.8 points per game in Indiana put him second on the team before he was traded on Feb. 5 to the Clippers. Mathurin is averaging 18.8 points per game since the trade.
Advertisement
The Pacers traded Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson along with three draft picks for center Ivica Zubac and forward Kobe Brown. Zubac hasn’t played for the Pacers yet due to a left ankle sprain suffered in late December. However, Carlisle said that Zubac will play for the Pacers at some point this season.
Zubac averaged 14.4 points and 11.0 rebounds per game for the Clippers before the trade.
“Yeah, he’ll play this season,” Carlisle said. “I don’t know when. He’s doing better, but he’s not there yet. We’re not going to send a guy out there to play that’s not 100 percent, a guy that’s this important to our organization and our future. But he’s working hard and he’s making progress.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers bringing back three starters including Pascal Siakam vs. Clippers