A player the Indiana Pacers brought in on a hardship contract because of injuries to the team has now joined the injury list himself.
Forward Cody Martin, who signed with the team on Nov. 5, was added to the injury report on Thursday afternoon. The Pacers (1-10) play one of the hottest teams in the league right now in the Phoenix Suns, who have won six of their last seven games — including four in a row.
The positive for the Pacers is that it's an illness rather than a new injury of note, and the Suns will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back. They defeated the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday 123-114.
The Suns will be without Jalen Green (right hamstring strain) and Mark Williams (right knee injury management).
This is the Pacers' fourth and final game of a road trip out west. They return home to host the Toronto Raptors on Saturday before heading back on the road.
While guards T.J. McConnell and Taelon Peter are no longer on Indiana's injury list, Martin is the latest addition — joining Tyrese Haliburton, Obi Toppin, Kam Jones, Johnny Furphy, Quenton Jackson, and Bennedict Mathurin.
The game tips off after 9 p.m. ET on Thursday and will air on Fan Duel Sports Network Indiana.
Scott Agness is the longest-tenured Pacers beat reporter. He enters his 14th season covering the team and he's been around The Fieldhouse since 2003. He runs Fieldhouse Files — covering the Pacers, Boom, and Fever — and hosts "The Fieldhouse Files Podcast."