The Indiana Pacers completed their march through the Eastern Conference on Saturday night with a very impressive 125-108 win over the New York Knicks to clinch a spot in the NBA Finals. While this has already been a shockingly successful playoff run for the Pacers, they will be focused on getting four more wins against the Oklahoma City Thunder to become NBA Champions.
In order to knock off the best team in the NBA and complete one of the biggest upsets in NBA Finals history, the Pacers will need all hands on deck. Unfortunately, they lost forward Jarace Walker to an ankle injury early in the fourth quarter of Game 6. Walker wasn't really able to put any weight on his injured right leg and was on crutches after the game.
Following the win, head coach Rick Carlisle gave an update on Walker's status, via ESPN.
“He's young so that's good,” Carlisle said. “I did not see a replay so I don't know how much, how far it turned over, how much weight he had on it. But when a guy goes down and stays down like that, you're always holding your breath.”
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The Pacers do have some time off before the NBA Finals get underway on Thursday night in Oklahoma City, so Walker does have some time rest and recover. The Pacers will also have a few days to take a breath and get ready for the juggernaut out of the Western Conference.
Walker isn't a major contributor for the Pacers, but he is someone who can give Carlisle some more lineup versatility as a big body in the front court who can be an impact defender. Those different options will be necessary for the Pacers against a Thunder squad that is as deep as any in the league.
The Thunder aren't dealing with any notable injuries of their own and closed out the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night, so they will have had a full week off by the time the championship series gets going.