{"id":104925,"date":"2024-11-04T17:57:06","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T22:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=104925"},"modified":"2024-11-04T17:57:06","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T22:57:06","slug":"pacers-fear-starter-aaron-nesmith-serious-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/04\/pacers-fear-starter-aaron-nesmith-serious-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Pacers Fear Starter Has Sustained Serious Injury"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Indiana Pacers are already <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/02\/pacers-time-enrique-freeman-step-up-isaiah-jackson-injury\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">down two rotation players<\/a> in centers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jacksis01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Isaiah Jackson<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wisemja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Wiseman<\/a>. Now, they must prepare for what could be a lengthy absence to a starter.<\/p>\n<h2>Pacers Fear Starter Aaron Nesmith Has Sustained Serious Injury<\/h2>\n<p>According to Fieldhouse File\u2019s Scott Agnes, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/n\/nesmiaa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aaron Nesmith<\/a>\u2019s ankle injury is \u201cnot a day-to-day (injury)\u2026 It was not a simple sprain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Agnes adds that Nesmith \u201cwas scheduled to undergo testing over the weekend.\u201d That being said, the fact that the Pacers have yet to update his status could be cause for concern.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">My understanding is that it&#8217;s not a day-to-day thing with Nesmith. It was not a simple sprain. He was scheduled to undergo testing over the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Already, the team is without centers Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman &#8212; likely for the season. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/aZGGv6ZLGW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/aZGGv6ZLGW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScottAgness\/status\/1853220889632157972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 3, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Nesmith sustained the injury on Friday, Nov. 1, in their loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. It was a non-contact injury, but the discomfort and pain he felt was palpable. It\u2019s been suggested that Nesmith is the latest Pacers player to tear his Achilles, though it\u2019s only speculation.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Aaron Nesmith exited the game early in the 2Q with an injury to the outside of his left ankle.<\/p>\n<p>In a lot of pain. He did not return. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sw01SlYT4K\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/sw01SlYT4K<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScottAgness\/status\/1852544990271987902?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>If it really is an Achilles injury for Nesmith though?<\/p>\n<h3>Ben Sheppard\u2019s Time Is Now<\/h3>\n<p>The obvious issue is that Nesmith could miss all or most of the season as he recovers. This might hurt the Pacers more than Jackson and Wiseman\u2019s absences combined. Those bigs provided depth behind franchise center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/turnemy01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Myles Turner<\/a> and could help them on the interior, both in terms of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/09\/myles-turner-shares-what-can-help-get-pacers-over-the-hump\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">rim-protection and rebounding<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>However, Nesmith is arguably the team\u2019s top defender, often guarding the opponent\u2019s best perimeter player. He\u2019s also developed his outside jumper, shooting 39.6 percent from three over the past three seasons. In 2024-25, he\u2019s been nailing a career-high 54.5 percent of his shots beyond the arc. Essentially, he\u2019s one of the marquee 3-and-D wings in the NBA.<\/p>\n<p>Any franchise would notice a void with Nesmith sidelined. On a team that\u2019s lacking those types of players, like Indiana, his presence will definitely be missed. Now, the Pacers will lean on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mathube01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bennedict Mathurin<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sheppbe01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ben Sheppard<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Both Mathurin (40.0 percent) and Sheppard (50.0 percent) are shooting the three-ball at a high rate this season. On the defensive end, Mathurin needs to maintain his focus and Sheppard\u2019s not physically imposing. However, both have can play solid defense, particularly Sheppard.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Nailing late 1st round\/early 2nd round picks does wonders for an NBA team.<\/p>\n<p>The Pacers took Ben Sheppard w\/ the 26th pick in last year&#8217;s draft and now he&#8217;s playing elite defense in a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3Sr6lmRTZJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/3Sr6lmRTZJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dan Olinger (@dan_olinger) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dan_olinger\/status\/1792298995819094521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 19, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Looking ahead, Sheppard may even start for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n<h3>This Or That?<\/h3>\n<p>Mathurin started against the Pelicans and Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle actually promoted him to the starting lineup in the second half of their game against the Boston Celtics, over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/n\/nembhan01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrew Nembhard<\/a>. This may have been due to injury though, as Nembhard didn\u2019t play against New Orleans because of a knee sprain. Furthermore, Nembhard is a high-level defender, and a team can\u2019t have too many of those.<\/p>\n<p>However, Nembhard\u2019s ice cold right now, shooting a paltry 11.1 percent from three. As a result, his jumper could compromise the offense more than Mathurin\u2019s self-confidence. All things considered equal, if Mathurin is keeping the ball moving and playing alert defense, there\u2019s little reason he shouldn\u2019t maintain his current role. Still, knowing Carlisle, Mathurin\u2019s going to have to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/05\/31\/pacers-rick-carlisle-sees-star-potential-bennedict-mathurin\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">prove himself night-in and night-out<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Indiana Pacers are already down two rotation players in centers Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman. Now, they must prepare for what could be a lengthy absence to a starter. Pacers Fear Starter Aaron Nesmith Has Sustained Serious Injury According to Fieldhouse File\u2019s Scott Agnes, Aaron Nesmith\u2019s ankle injury is \u201cnot a day-to-day (injury)\u2026 It [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":105051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1608,62,3],"tags":[2832,950,4860,4303,4745],"class_list":["post-104925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pacers","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-aaron-nesmith","tag-andrew-nembhard","tag-ben-sheppard","tag-bennedict-mathurin","tag-nba-injuries"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}