Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell (9) celebrates toward the bench with center-forward Myles Turner (33). Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Pacers PG T.J. McConnell expected to miss several months after hand surgery

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 12/7/21

The Indiana Pacers have been one of the more disappointing teams in the NBA thus far this season with a 10-16 record . The sledding is about to get even more difficult without do-it-all guard T.J. McConnell for the foreseeable future.

Pacers guard TJ McConnell had surgery to repair torn ligaments in his right hand and is expected to miss several months, sources tell ESPN. McConnell could be lost for the rest of the season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 7, 2021

Through his first 24 games this season — six of them starts — McConnell has averaged 8.4 points, 4.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 24.2 minutes per contest. The 29-year-old is third on the Pacers in field goal percentage (.503), and is in the top-five in assists (second), steals (third) and rebounds (fifth).

McConnell is in his third season with Indiana after spending the first four years of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers. He is coming off of a 2020-2021 campaign in which he posted career-highs in points (8.6), assists (6.6), rebounds (3.7) and steals (1.9) per game, while shooting a career-best 55.9% from the field as well.

The Pacers will look to start turning their season around when they face the New York Knicks at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

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