Pacers Injury Update: Ian Mahinmi Tears Plantar Fascia
By Evan Massey
The Indiana Pacers will be without big man Ian Mahinmi for 6-8 weeks with a torn plantar fascia.
Ian Mahinmi had been playing some of his best basketball that he has played with the Indiana Pacers this season, but that will be put on hold as he will miss six to eight weeks with a torn plantar fascia.
Injury Update: Ian Mahinmi will be out six to eight weeks with a torn left plantar fascia.
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) December 7, 2014
While this isn’t a devastating blow, it is still going to hurt their depth and defensive ability moving forward. Mahinmi was a very underrated defender, and his offense has been improving throughout the majority of the season. He will be missed defensively in a big way, but Lavoy Allen will help them move on quickly on the offensive end of the court.
The Pacers know that they will have to figure out ways to step their defense up, but they are getting an upgrade in rebounding and offense with Allen. Roy Hibbert is back healthy, and as long as he can stay on the court the Pacers should be just fine. Allen isn’t a terrible defender, but he doesn’t have the height and length that Mahinmi does at the rim.
Throughout the season thus far, Mahinmi has averaged 4.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks per game. Those numbers aren’t too impressive, but they were much better when Hibbert went out with injury for about a week.
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Allen on the other hand has averaged 6.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per game this season, which are certainly better numbers. At 25 years of age, there are many beginning to ask whether or not Allen could be the answer at power forward long-term with David West nearing retirement. That being said, he’ll have a prolonged opportunity to play backup center minutes and prove himself even more.
Unfortunately for the Pacers, losing a player like Mahinmi is disappointing and could end up hurting in some aspects. It’s hard to be happy that Allen gets more playing time when the cost is a fairly significant injury for another player, but this could be exactly what Frank Vogel has needed to force his hand and give Allen more minutes.
All of that being said, it will be intriguing to see how Allen fits into the backup center role over the next couple of months. Hopefully Mahinmi is able to heal quickly and fully, and can get back on the court closer to the six weeks than eight.