Tonight could be the end of the Eastern Conference Finals. The series is going back to New York, but Indiana has appeared to be a step ahead of the Knicks through throughout the series. Indiana gave up a game they probably want back, and the Knicks gave up a game they probably want back. But all this totals in a 3-1 advantage for the Indiana Pacers.
A key player in all of this is Aaron Nesmith. He’s not the biggest name on the Pacers, but he is the piece that locks their starting five in place. His six straight threes were probably the biggest single factor in the Pacers’ comeback earlier in the series. He’s needed. Health is important. We know this.
So is Nesmith playing tonight? According to the most recent recent injury report from the NBA at 12:30 a.m. EDT, Nesmith is still listed as “Questionable.”
Aaron Nesmith is better than Doubtful but worse than Active
I believe this is how he was listed before Game 4, and he started that game, so this is probably fine. I passed out while watching that game, but I can’t remember seeing much that made me think he was limited or hearing much talk about that after the game. Short of greater detail from a reliable source, what we have is that Aaron Nesmith looks about as prepared to play a game as he was before a game he started, just with two more days of recovery time.
That’s not a bad place to be. Benedict Mathurin had a great game last time, so if you want to bring Nesmith off the bench in New York to be safe, maybe you’re giving Mathurin some runway with a boosted level of confidence. Which could of course backfire.
Regardless, this seems like a hopeful report. No backslide in recovery, just a note that “yeah. ow. this still sucks.” Hopefully we’ll get to see how he looks tonight.