TLDR: Indiana gets its first look at Paycom Center this fall on Tuesday, October 13, and the biggest question isn't who wins a preseason game. It's whether Tyrese Haliburton's right ankle lets him play in it.
This one is all about who suits up. Haliburton is in his first preseason since Achilles surgery. He played the opener against Minnesota in Ames, then tweaked his right ankle and sat out Saturday against Atlanta. Rick Carlisle called it a "mild tweak" and said the ankle has nothing to do with the repaired Achilles. That's the sentence Indiana fans care about. Carlisle also said the plan is for him to practice Monday and play Tuesday.
Oklahoma City has a game to get through first: a Monday trip to Atlanta, the first night of a back-to-back. The Thunder are sending basically nobody who matters. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell, Jared McCain and Kenrich Williams are all sitting it out for rest, and Chet Holmgren and the rest of the regulars aren't making the trip. However Monday goes, it tells you very little about the team that shows up at home on Tuesday.
Health is a different story from rest. Holmgren hasn't played this preseason because of a quad contusion, and nobody has said whether he plays against Indiana. Isaiah Hartenstein (ankle), Jaylin Williams (heel), Thomas Sorber (knee) and Nikola Topic (back) are banged up too. That's a lot of OKC's size on the report at once. The guards should be fresh. The frontcourt is the part nobody can project yet.
Indiana's backcourt is thin right now. T.J. McConnell has missed time with an undisclosed issue, and Johnny Furphy is out after tearing his right ACL. The Pacers still nearly stole Saturday's game without Haliburton. They were down 96-86 after 3 against the Hawks, won the 4th 31-23 and came up 2 points short, 119-117. Even without their point guard, the effort is there late in games.
What's worth watching on Tuesday: how many minutes Haliburton gets if he's cleared, and whether OKC lets any of its bigs back on the floor. If both happen, it's a useful early read on 2 teams putting their rotations back together. If neither does, it's a 7:00 PM CT run for the guys at the end of the bench.
