NEW CASTLE, Ind. — It’s been a mixed bag when it comes to key players staying healthy for the Pacers, so it’s been a mixed bag of a season.
You really never know what you might get.
That’s the not-always-so-great news. The better news is the Pacers are generally still pretty decent when they have all their men in uniform.
We saw that Friday, when Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon returned from injuries, and the Pacers fought their way to a 111-106 road win over the Orlando Magic.
A big part of that win was a play of the reserves, from Aaron Holiday (20 points) to Doug McDermott (19) to T.J. McConnell (nine points, eight assists).
If the Pacers (24-27) are to pull a repeat Sunday at Memphis, they will undoubtedly need similar balance.
Holiday and McConnell have both been steady at worse in recent weeks. A couple of games ago, it was McConnell who basically saved the day. On Friday, Holiday gave one of his best showings of the season.
“They’re getting out and running,” coach Nate Bjorkgren told reporters of the second unit. “He’s good when he’s out there playing free, playing with some space.”
Starting center Myles Turner will be out again Sunday with a sprained ankle. He’s already missed three straight games.
So the Pacers can’t yet be considered whole. Actually, with T.J. Warren out for the season, that won’t be the case for a while. But if they can get continued production from the bench, and everyone else can stay relatively healthy, it may not matter.
The Pacers could be a team primed to spoil someone else’s playoff party. But they need to take care of business in the regular season first, and they need to do it on on a more regular basis.
“As long as we’re winning games, that’s really all I care about,” McDermott said.
