標籤: Jairus

The Indiana Pacers have all the incentive in the world to lose every game through the end of the 2025-26 season, as if their 2026 first-round selection ends up within picks five to nine, they will be dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers courtesy of the Ivica Zubac trade.

Since all critical teams are trying to lose games with the aim of maintaining their preference in protected grounds, the Pacers don’t need to do much to try and prevent defeat. Injury problems have plagued the team throughout the season, and after Sunday night’s 131-111 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, they lost two more key contributors, with TJ McConnell suffering a hamstring injury and Jarres Walker twisting his ankle.

That’s all Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle could do give vague feedback When asked about the respective positions of McConnell and Walker.

“Concerned. We’ll see.” [Walker] Ended up spraining my ankle. Look, we are a little worried right now. We’ll circle the wagons with the medical staff tomorrow and see what’s what,” Carlisle told reporters, via Tony East of Forbes.

Rick Carlisle on TJ McConnell’s hamstring and Jarace Walker’s late-game injury: https://t.co/y4ULLNOLc8 pic.twitter.com/hBk5V80NeF

– Tony East (@TonyREast) 9 March 2026

Fast bowlers could not take a break on the injury front

Before the 2025-26 season begins, no one would be surprised to see the Pacers remain semi-competitive amid the absence of Tyrese Haliburton. In this regard they would have been similar to the Boston Celtics. Fast forward to March, the Pacers have a record of 15-49 – the second worst record in the NBA at the moment.

Injuries have been very disappointing for the pacers. Guys like Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin and McConnell have missed significant time. They are slowly bringing Ivica Zubac on board. And this season has simply been a nightmare of a gap season that could ultimately lead to gold medal in draft season.

The Indiana Pacers came out of the 2026 NBA All-Star break and immediately suffered a loss to the Washington Wizards on Thursday night at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.

Despite the 112–105 loss to the Wizards, Indiana had some positives to take from the contest, including the play of Jarre Walker. The former Houston Cougars star power forward paced Indiana against Washington with 19 points and 13 rebounds. While he made only 5 of 15 shots from the field, he made 8 of 10 from the free-throw line. Walker recorded seven assists and two steals in 30 minutes of action.

After the game, Walker received praise from Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle, who considered the player’s development “one of the triumphs of this season”, according to Scott Agnes of Fieldhouse Files.

Granted, the Pacers don’t have much to celebrate heading into the 2025-26 NBA season, seeing Walker improve on the court gives Carlisle and the team something to feel good about.

It’s also time for Walker to translate his potential into raw numbers, as he’s already in his third season in the league. In his first two seasons in the NBA, Walker, who was selected eighth by Indiana in the first round of the 2023 NBA draft, averaged only 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per contest. He entered the Wizards game with season averages of 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 54 games.

Still, there’s plenty of room for improvement for the 22-year-old Walker, including his shot efficiency. He made only 40.4 percent of his attempts and posted a 49.3 effective field goal percentage in the first half of the season.