Injuries already have taken a toll on the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers, who meet on Monday night in Indianapolis.
Indiana has lost four straight while dealing with injuries to several key players. The short-handed Pacers trailed the entire second half in a 98-90 home loss to the previously winless Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
The Pacers remain without All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton, who is expected to miss at least two weeks due to a hamstring strain. Center Ivica Zubac is sidelined with an ankle injury, while guard T.J. McConnell also is out with a hamstring issue.
Andrew Nembhard has taken on a larger role in Haliburton’s absence and scored 23 points against Brooklyn. Pascal Siakam added 17 points, while Quenton Jackson contributed 12.
Nembhard remained optimistic despite Sunday’s loss.
“The NBA moves quick,” Nembhard said. “Flip the page tomorrow, come in and work. It’s very early. I think there’s still a lot of excitement about our group getting better and peaking at the right time.”
Pacers forward Obi Toppin missed his second consecutive game Sunday with back soreness. Even if Toppin returns on Monday, Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said it will take a complete effort to end the team’s current skid.
“There’s a lot of challenges right now, but that’s what this whole thing is about,” Carlisle said. “It’s the NBA. Stuff is hard. We’ve all just got to work even harder at finding answers, finding ways.”
Atlanta also could be relying on its depth in Monday’s matchup. The Hawks are monitoring the availability of forward Jalen Johnson, who suffered a sprained left ankle in a 121-99 road loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday.
Johnson had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists before exiting the game with a sprained ankle in the third quarter.
Reserve center Jock Landale also left Saturday’s game with a hip injury in the first quarter and is out for Monday’s game. Rookie Asa Newell stepped into the rotation and responded with 13 points and four rebounds.
Atlanta’s latest setback followed an impressive 114-111 home victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. The Hawks struggled from the opening tip against New Orleans, falling behind 35-18 after the first quarter.
Atlanta shot 38.5% from the field (35 of 91) and 17.4% (8 for 46) from 3-point range while committing a season-high 19 turnovers that resulted in 34 New Orleans points.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder would like to see his team begin Monday’s game with greater urgency.
“We haven’t started the game well from an execution standpoint,” Snyder said. “I think we’re putting ourselves in tough positions offensively, and (Saturday) that resulted in turnovers which were really tough to defend against.”
The Hawks will need better production from beyond the arc from several players, including center Onyeka Okongwu. The 25-year-old Okongwu remains confident in his ability to contribute from long range despite going 0-for-5 against the Pelicans.
Okongwu is averaging 11.9 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 25.8% from beyond the arc after shooting 37.6% from 3-point range last season.
“My teammates, coaches, everyone here, they want me to get them up. You know, that’s what I do and I’m very good at it,” Okongwu said. “So, just being confident, trusting the process, trusting the work, and knowing that even though some games my threes aren’t going down, just keep shooting them. It’ll go down eventually.”
