Indiana Pacers DVOA, Stats, & NBA Rankings

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle says guard Bennedict Mathurin (toe) is still out for Thursday's meeting with the New York Knicks. This will mark Mathurin's second straight absence due to a sprained right toe, and he'll have a quick turnaround if he wants to return for Indy's next game, which arrives back home on Friday versus the visiting Sacramento Kings. The 22-year-old offensive-minded wing has been a far superior fantasy asset in points leagues, recording 14.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.3 treys per game on 36.4% shooting from beyond the arc in his second season. With T.J. McConnell (illness) back in the fold on Thursday, Andrew Nembhard can play more of a two-guard role from the Pacers' second unit. Keep an eye on rookie Ben Sheppard's minutes in very deep leagues while Mathurin remains unavailable.

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring) is available for Thursday's matchup against the New York Knicks. Haliburton said on Wednesday that he expected to play against the Knicks, and the Pacers have officially cleared him to play. After Haliburton was restricted to 22 minutes in Tuesday's narrow loss to the Boston Celtics, the 23-year-old's minutes will reportedly be similarly monitored on Thursday in his second game back from a strained left hamstring. Haliburton is collecting a stellar 23.3 points on 49.1% shooting from the field, 4.1 rebounds, 3.3 triples, and 1.1 steals and leads the NBA with 12.5 assists per game this season. The All-Star point guard should be started in all season-long fantasy formats, but his playing-time cap makes him a risky DFS investment in a difficult matchup against New York.

Indiana Pacers guard/forward Bennedict Mathurin (toe) is considered questionable for Thursday's matchup against the Knicks. A toe sprain kept him out from Tuesday's clash with Boston, and Mathurin might have to sit again with the same issue. Buddy Hield and Aaron Nesmith played huge minutes without Mathurin on Tuesday, while Andrew Nembhard went close to 30 minutes off the bench. The trio should soak in most of Mathurin's minutes again if he can't return on Thursday.

Indiana Pacers point guard T.J. McConnell (illness) could be out for a third straight game on Thursday versus the Knicks, as he's listed as questionable for the contest. The savvy playmaker missed Sunday's clash against the Grizzlies for personal reasons and was kept out from Tuesday's matchup against Boston due to an illness. He apparently hasn't yet fully recovered from the bug. Andrew Nembhard has benefited from McConnell's absence all season long, and he can expect to feature heavily again on Thursday.

Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring) has been listed as questionable for Thursday's game against the Knicks. Haliburton has said he expects to play on Thursday, but the team has kept him on the injury report. The NBA's assists leader returned from injury on Tuesday versus Boston but was limited to 22 minutes as Indiana tries to manage his left hamstring problem. It might be a while until he's free of restrictions, but Haliburton can still ball out with a minutes limit. He had 13 points and 10 assists against the Celtics.