AARON Nesmith

Nesmith got into two games this month before the hamstring took him out of the lineup. On October 7 against Minnesota he scored 19 points in 15.8 minutes in a Pacers win, though he finished with a minus-13 and did not record a rebound or an assist. On October 10 against Atlanta he played 20.3 minutes in a loss and put up 7 points, 1 rebound and 5 assists with a plus-5. The Minnesota game was the kind of quick scoring burst Indiana wants from him. The Atlanta game showed a different side, with more passing and less scoring. Neither game tells you much on its own. They were short stints in exhibition settings. What matters is that he was healthy and active in both, and then the hamstring went the wrong way a few days later.

Nesmith played 45 games for Indiana last season and averaged 29.7 minutes. He put up 13.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.5 blocks per game, with 1.4 turnovers. His shooting splits were 41.4 percent from the field, 37.9 percent from three and 82.9 percent from the line. His true shooting percentage was 55.4, and his usage rate was 19.0. The plus-minus was a minus-4.5 per game. The three-point number and the free-throw number are the ones that define his offensive role. He is a wing who spaces the floor and makes his free throws. The 45 games played is the number that stands out most. He missed a meaningful chunk of last season, and the current hamstring issue puts durability back in the conversation.

Nesmith's final stretch last season was uneven. On March 15 against Milwaukee he scored 32 points in 28.8 minutes, his biggest game in this window. On March 27 against the Clippers he went for 26 points and 7 rebounds in 35.4 minutes. In between, the production swung. He had 5 points in 24.8 minutes against San Antonio on March 21 and 12 points against New York on March 13. Two games against the Knicks, two games in the 12-to-14 point range. The Pacers lost most of those games. Of the eight late-March games listed, Indiana won only one, a March 23 game against Orlando in which Nesmith scored 19. His plus-minus was negative in six of those eight games. The scoring was there on some nights, but the team results were not.

The first thing to watch is the minutes. Coming off a hamstring injury, Nesmith is unlikely to jump straight back to the 29.7 minutes he averaged last season. A gradual ramp-up would be the normal approach. The second thing is the shot. He hit 37.9 percent from three last season, and the Pacers need that spacing from the wing. The third thing is the defensive activity, which the box score only partly captures through his 0.6 steals and 0.5 blocks. If the October 23 return date holds, he will have missed the New Orleans game and little else. If the hamstring lingers, the Pacers will need to adjust. Either way, Indiana has no rumors attached to him right now. He is a Pacer, he is hurt, and the only question is when he is back.