While it doesn't come as a surprise, Indiana Pacers fans are likely still disappointed to see they'll be without Jarace Walker to open the NBA Finals.
The team officially ruled out the sophomore for Game 1 on Thursday due to a right ankle sprain.
Walker suffered the injury in the Pacers series-clinching Game 6 win over the New York Knicks last Saturday.
The 21-year-old was injured early in the fourth quarter while defending a drive. His right leg appeared to bend awkwardly, and he stayed down for two more possessions before crawling off the court. He needed help from two trainers to get off the floor, and he went straight to the locker room and did not return.
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“He's young so that's good,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after Game 6. “But when a guy goes down and stays down like that, you're always holding your breath.
Walker's absence to start the series was something made known previously by the Pacers' bench boss while making his weekly radio appearance on a local Indiana station, noting that the backup forward would miss at least the first two games of the series because of the injury.
The former eighth-overall pick in 2023 hasn't been a mainstay of the Pacers' playoff rotation, averaging 3.0 points and 1.8 rebounds in less than 10 minutes per game through his 12 appearances this year, but the team is hopeful he can return for the Finals at some point.
“The fact that the finals are stretched out over a pretty significant period of time gives him a chance to recover,” Carlisle said. "He’ll do all of the treatment. He’ll be very motivated (to return). He’s been on point any time he’s had any kind of dings or anything like that."
If Walker were to recover after the first two games, Game 3 takes place on June 11 when the series shifts to Indiana.
