One of the core pieces of the Indiana Pacers’ roster is reportedly dealing with an injury that might not be as bad as it sounds. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Caris LeVert, whom the team acquired last year as part of the gigantic trade that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets, has a stress fracture in his back.
The good news, per Woj, is that the team does not think it is serious enough to cost him an extended period of time, with the belief among the Pacers being that he could suit up sometime around the start of the regular season.
Pacers guard Caris LeVert has a stress fracture in his back, but there’s optimism that it could only be a minor setback and he could return sometime around the start of the season, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 28, 2021
Wojnarowski went on to say that the team still needs to do some more testing before figuring out exactly how long they’ll be without LeVert’s services.
More testing still to come on the stress fracture, but again, there’s optimism that it won’t cause LeVert to miss significant time.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 28, 2021
LeVert played in 35 games last season after being acquired by the Pacers, as the team discovered a mass on his left kidney during his physical that was subsequently removed. While the team had its struggles last year, LeVert was able to provide a much-needed scoring punch and found other ways to stuff the stat sheet, averaging 20.7 points per game while doling out 4.9 assists, hauling in 4.6 rebounds, and forcing 1.5 steals in 32.9 minutes per game in Indiana.