Pacers Upgrade 3 Key Players Ahead of Jazz Clash

Additionally, they upgraded T.J. McConnell to questionable due to his left hamstring strain, while Johnny Furphy, Obi Toppin, and Bennedict Mathurin are out.

Before the Pacers' game against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, head coach Rick Carlisle provided an update on McConnell, who has not played this season after suffering a hamstring issue during the team's first preseason game.

"T.J. is getting closer," Carlisle said, according to Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. "I know he had a workout today. I hadn't heard how that went but I heard he's been ramping up pretty steadily."

Entering Tuesday's game, the Pacers are underdogs due to their injuries and recent struggles. Indiana is 1-9 on the season and sitting 14th in the Eastern Conference.

The Utah Jazz, while only 3-7, have been competitive in a majority of their games and boast a better roster at the moment than the Pacers.

The Pacers lost 114-83 to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night, marking yet another loss for a team struggling early in the season.

Luckily, the team is slowly getting healthy. Andrew Nemhbard returned on Saturday, giving the team a point guard once again.

Nembhard suffered a shoulder injury during the team's season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder, sidelining him until Saturday's game vs. the Denver Nuggets.

"Having Drew back is a big difference maker for us," Carlisle said. "I thought he played very well considering he's been out a period of 2 1/2 weeks or whatever it's been.

"He looked dynamic, he looked like he had good feel. Passing was sharp. Another playmaker was important for us."

A Very Different Team Sans Tyrese Haliburton

The Pacers are clearly not the same team with Tyrese Haliburton out due to a torn Achilles. He is likely out for the season, essentially ending the team's hopes of contending.

Still, Indiana hoped to be competitive and push for a potential playoff spot, but injuries have made that impossible for the time being.

If the Pacers can get healthy, they could make a run based on their chemistry and the continuity of their system, but since they own their first-round pick this year, they may want to lose as many games as possible.