Pacers point guard T.J. McConnell will be sidelined for at least one month after suffering a left hamstring strain, head coach Rick Carlisle announced today (Twitter link via the team).
As we relayed earlier this week, McConnell was forced to leave Tuesday’s preseason opener in the second quarter due to the injury.
Obviously, it’s a disappointing development for the Pacers, who will be without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton for the entire season after he sustained a torn Achilles tendon in the first quarter of Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Second-round pick Kam Jones, another guard, is expected to miss several weeks with a back injury.
McConnell, 33, is entering his 11th NBA season and seventh with Indiana. The veteran backup appeared in 79 regular season contests in 2024/25, averaging 9.1 points, 4.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 17.9 minutes per game. He also had a strong playoff showing, with very similar averages — 9.5 PPG, 4.0 APG, 3.3 RPG, 0.9 SPG — in 23 games (17.5 MPG).
More to come…