T.J. McConnell Cleared to Make Season Debut for Pacers vs. Nuggets

Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell will be available Saturday against the Denver Nuggets in Mexico City, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Saturday. McConnell has not played this season.

A right hamstring strain kept McConnell out of Indiana's first nine games. The Pacers listed him as out for Wednesday's game in Memphis, then upgraded him and forward Kelly Oubre Jr. to questionable Friday night. Carlisle said Oubre will also be available.

Tip-off at Arena CDMX is 5 p.m. ET on NBA TV.

McConnell did not appear in a preseason game. He sat out the Oct. 21 opener in New Orleans and all eight games after it.

On Oct. 23, Carlisle said there was no timetable for McConnell's return. By Oct. 28, Carlisle said, McConnell was "doing better" and "getting closer."

Indiana assigned McConnell and Johnny Furphy to the G League's Noblesville Boom on Oct. 30, and McConnell went through practice at the Boom's training camp. He was back with the Pacers the next day. Furphy is still rehabbing the right ACL he tore last season.

McConnell also strained a hamstring in the 2025 preseason, that time his left one, in Indiana's first exhibition game. He missed 10 games before debuting Nov. 11, 2025, at Utah.

In 2025-26, McConnell averaged 9.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in 17.2 minutes over 56 games. He finished with 287 assists and shot 242-of-450 from the field.

McConnell is one of five Pacers to miss time with a hamstring issue this season, along with Tyrese Haliburton, Quenton Jackson, Larry Nance Jr., and Aaron Nesmith. Every team in the league is looking into it and studying it as best it can, Carlisle said.

"There's a lot of speculation about reasons why there have been a lot of injuries," Carlisle said. "I think generally, if you look at the league the last couple of years, there have been quite a few early in the season. The game is fast and not slowing down."

"There's a school of thought that summer training has to evolve to the way the game is played now," Carlisle continued. "A lot of training with trainers, one-on-one, one-on-zero, it's a running game and it's a running and speed game. So it's a different kind of conditioning than it's ever been. That's something that's logical to me."

Before the Pacers hosted Philadelphia on Oct. 28, Nesmith called the hamstring problems more inevitable than anything, since game reps and game speed cannot be replaced.

"I think teams are playing a lot harder and a lot faster," Nesmith said. "There are a lot more possessions in our game now. I think that just takes a different kind of wear and tear on the body that guys [need] to get used to."

Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against Oklahoma City. Indiana went 19-63 without him last season. Four games into his return this fall, he strained his left hamstring.

The strain is mild, Carlisle said Oct. 28.

"He'll be listed as week-to-week, so in two weeks from now if you want to ask how he's doing that will be fine," Carlisle said. "I don't think it's realistic that he will play before then."

Haliburton stayed in Indianapolis instead of traveling to Mexico City. Carlisle said that was "better for his rehab."

Oubre had been listed with a left calf contusion after sitting out Monday against Atlanta and Wednesday in Memphis. He told reporters in Mexico City on Friday that he would play.

Oubre played in Mexico City with Phoenix in 2019 and called the altitude "pretty gnarly." The city sits about 7,350 feet above sea level, and Friday's practice at Arena CDMX leaned on conditioning.

"Coach made it a point to open up our lungs," Oubre said. "We did some sprints, we did a lot of running, things to stay active and just kind of break in our bodies for this altitude."

Ben Sheppard (left meniscus surgery) and Furphy are out.

Injuries and rest left Indiana with six players Monday in a 108-104 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks. The Pacers had not used only six players in a game since Nov. 20, 2004. Rookie Braden Smith and Jackson both started.

Two nights later, Ivica Zubac and Obi Toppin returned. Indiana beat the Memphis Grizzlies 107-103 and ended a five-game losing streak. Andrew Nembhard scored 22 points, and Pascal Siakam had 20. Memphis pulled within 104-103 on a Ty Jerome floater with 28.2 seconds left before Nesmith hit a 3-pointer from the right corner. He finished with 16.

Indiana (3-6) is the designated home team against Denver (4-3) and is bringing its gold out tradition to a sold-out Arena CDMX. The Pacers have never played in Mexico. Saturday's game is the 35th NBA game in the country and the 16th in the regular season.

Julian Strawther (left knee sprain) is out for the Nuggets.

The Pacers play the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas on Monday at 8 p.m. ET.