Pacers' Jarace Walker likely done for NBA Finals

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle revealed in a press conference Sunday that reserve wing Jarace Walker is likely done for the rest of the series, per Tony East of ClutchPoints (Twitter link). Walker has missed the entire NBA Finals so far with a sprained right ankle.

“He is doing better,” Carlisle said. “He is off crutches and he is walking with a slight limp now. So it’s very unlikely that he’ll be able to play in this series. But he is doing better. It would be great if he was available because I do think he would help us.”

The 6’8″ big man enjoyed an expanded bench role on Indiana during his second pro regular season season out of Houston, averaging 6.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 1.5 APG in 15.8 MPG. He also notched shooting splits of .472/.405/.667. Carlisle tightened his rotations in the playoffs, cutting Walker’s minutes to 9.8 MPG.

Without Walker available, Obi Toppin has become an even more essential frontcourt bench contributor for Indiana in the series, taking on a larger role even late in games.

Indiana and the Thunder are currently knotted up, 2-2, in the ongoing series. A pivotal Game 5 is slated for Monday night in Oklahoma City. The Pacers are appearing in their first NBA Finals since 2000 — over three years before the 21-year-old Walker was even born.