Indiana

Pacers

After spraining his ankle during an October 25 win over the Nets, Zubac has missed the Pacers’ last five games. If he can play on Wednesday, the Pacers will likely drop Jay Huff to the bench, even if they limit Zubac’s minutes.

Toppin did not play in Monday’s loss to the Hawks but was made active because teams must have eight active players, per league rules. If he plays, Toppin’s return could bump Kobe Brown out of the rotation entirely after he played 38 minutes against the Hawks.

Nance was one of the many Pacers who didn’t play on Monday, with only six players seeing action. His return adds frontcourt depth but will not affect fantasy basketball.

Nesmith is back after missing Monday’s loss to the Hawks, Indiana’s second game in as many nights. His return will push Quenton Jackson to the bench.

Nembhard is back after sitting out Monday’s loss to the Hawks. Braden Smith, who dished out 10 assists, isn’t guaranteed to be active given his two-way contract status.

Siakam is back after sitting out Monday’s loss to the Hawks. Jalen Slawson should head to the bench after making a spot start on Monday.

Huff has been filling in as the starting center for Indiana for the last few games, but that hasn’t always led to starter minutes. However, with only six available players for the Pacers in this game, Huff played a significant role. He started off hot, scoring 17 points in the first half, which helped him lead the team in scoring while setting a new season high for points. He’ll continue starting until Ivica Zubac (ankle) returns, which makes him an intriguing streaming option, even if he has struggled as a starter prior to this game.

Slawson re-signed with Indiana on a two-way deal in July, and he has ended up being part of the Pacers’ rotation this season. However, his role expanded exponentially in this game due to them only having six available players. Slawson didn’t shoot the ball well, but he did a little bit of everything else in the box score. Slawson was productive in this game, but his role won’t typically be large enough for him to repeat it often.

The Pacers only had six healthy players for this game, so everyone that was available played a ton of minutes. That allowed Smith to make the first start of his career, and he took full advantage. Most second-round picks don’t record double-doubles in their first starts, but the special circumstances allowed college basketball’s total assist leader from last season to do just that. Smith is a high-level passer, but he won’t be part of the Pacers’ rotation when the team is healthy. Depending on the injury report ahead of Wednesday’s game, he could end up starting again.

Oubre was never on the injury report, but he has been ruled out, with the update coming after the scheduled tipoff time. That will leave the Pacers with just six available players, which means those six will average out to 40 minutes of playing time.