Starting Pacers swingman Andrew Nembhard has been given the green light to return to the floor for Indiana on Sunday against the Grizzlies, the team has announced (Twitter link). The Gonzaga alum has been out since November 6 with knee tendinitis.
Nembhard has only been available for seven games this season. Across those contests (all starts), the 6’5″ wing averaged 7.3 points per game on .385/.231/.800 shooting splits. He’s also chipping in on 4.7 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 0.9 steals per bout.
Nembhard and fellow starting wing Aaron Nesmithwho remains out with a lingering hamstring injury, have been sidelined for most of the 9-11 Pacers’ season. Guard Bennedict Mathurin has been starting in Nembhard’s stead, while two-way forward Quenton Jackson has been starting for Nesmith.
According to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star, head coach Rick Carlisle has indicated that Nembhard will play “a limited number of minutes,” but is set to reclaim his starting role.
Carlisle added that two other injured wings, Nesmith and Ben Sheppardare still “weeks away” from returning to the hardwood, Dopirak tweets.
