Indiana Pacers played Hawks with just six players due to injuries

The Indiana Pacers played Monday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks with just six available players due to a staggering 11-player injury list that sidelined roughly 93% of the team’s total payroll, according to NBA.com reporting.

Jarace Walker stood among a solitary group of healthy teammates in Indianapolis, representing a starting five and a single reserve. Head coach Rick Carlisle walked into his pregame news conference facing an unprecedented roster crunch, initially expecting seven active players before a late knee bruise scratched Kelly Oubre Jr. right before tip-off.

Braden Smith highlights vs. Hawks 📹 19 PTS 8-13 FG 2-3 3PT 10 AST 4 REB 3 STL 1 BLK pic.twitter.com/v86QCTx9cx

— https://x.com/Pacers/status/2117456315417039026

The resulting six-man rotation marks the first time the franchise has deployed so few players in a single game since 2004. Across the league, teams have utilized a six-man roster only seven times over the last 15 seasons, with nearly all of those instances occurring during meaningless late-year contests rather than the opening weeks of a schedule. Not since November 24, 2009, when Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors managed a win over the Dallas Mavericks with cramping legs, has a team run a six-man rotation this early in a campaign.

“It’s kind of a perfect storm of things happening at once,” Carlisle told reporters before the game, noting the sheer bad luck of the situation while emphasizing the need for caution. “It’s unlucky. But we have to be smart here.”

The fearless six: How six Indiana Pacers players were nearly enough to take down Atlanta Hawks

The casualty list spanned nearly the entire roster. Tyrese Haliburton sat out with a hamstring injury, Pascal Siakam rested, Johnny Furphy dealt with a knee issue, and T.J. McConnell managed a hamstring strain. Larry Nance Jr. fought an illness, Andrew Nembhard dealt with a cervical issue, Aaron Nesmith sat with a hamstring strain, Ben Sheppard tended to a knee injury, Obi Toppin fought a lumbar sprain, and Ivica Zubac dealt with an ankle injury.

The financial disparity on the floor laid bare the sheer depth of the crisis. Indiana fielded roughly $15 million in active salary while keeping approximately $193 million in payroll seated on the bench. Jarace Walker stood as the only active Pacer making more than $3 million this season. Jay Huff, Quenton Jackson, and three players on two-way deals—Braden Smith, Jalen Slawson, and Kobe Brown—rounded out the available group. Smith earned the first start of his NBA career alongside Walker, Slawson, Huff, and Jackson, while Brown provided the lone bench minutes.

Indiana Pacers played Hawks with just six players due to injuries

“There’s going to be some real opportunity,” Carlisle said of the severely depleted lineup.

The Pacers travel to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. The team gets a brief respite on Tuesday as the entire league observes a scheduled day off for Election Day, followed by additional practice window days off on Thursday and Friday.