The Pacers got a little clarity on two injured players Friday afternoon, assigning veteran point guard T.J. McConnell and forward Johnny Furphy to the Noblesville Boom, their G League affiliate, for recovery work.
On paper, it’s a demotion. In practice, it looks more like a sign that both players are moving forward after injury layoffs that have kept them out of game action all season. With Indiana in the middle of a packed schedule and limited practice time between games, the Boom give both players a chance to get on the floor while the Pacers keep rolling through the regular season.
McConnell has been sidelined since the start of training camp with a strained right hamstring, and Rick Carlisle said Wednesday that he was “doing better,” and “passing tests he needs to pass.” Carlisle stopped short of saying a return was right around the corner, but the G League stint gives McConnell a ramp-up path he wouldn’t have had otherwise. Indiana plays in Miami on Friday night, then returns home for back-to-back games against the Nets on Sunday and the Hawks on Monday before heading out on a three-game road trip that includes the team’s Mexico City game against the Nuggets.
Furphy’s situation is different, but the assignment still marks another checkpoint in his rehab. He has been out since February with an ACL tear, and a source told the IndyStar that Furphy has been cleared for “very limited” live play and is still in the early stages of his recovery plan. He is not close to 5-on-5 full court work yet, but the Boom will offer more room for what he can do right now than remaining with the Pacers during this stretch.
Indiana could use McConnell back quickly. The Pacers are 2-3, and they had just nine standard-contract players available in Wednesday’s loss to the 76ers. Along with McConnell and Furphy, the team is also without All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton (left hamstring strain), starting center Ivica Zubac (sprained left ankle) and guard Ben Sheppard (surgery to repair torn left meniscus).
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