Pacers coach: Walker missed at least the first two games of the finals, and it is still unknown when he will return

Earlier, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle revealed that his team forward Jaris Walker would miss at least the first two games of the finals due to a right ankle injury, and it is still unclear when he will return.

In an interview with 107.5 The Fan radio on Monday, Carlisle said: "Walker will be absent for a while. I'm not sure how long it will take, but he will certainly not play in the first two games of the finals."

Carlisle did not disclose the specific severity of Walker's injury, but pointed out that he is still walking with a crutch as of today.

According to Carlisle, this means Walker will miss at least the first two games against the Thunder and will not be able to make a comeback until June 12 at the earliest. The first game of the finals will start this Friday.

"Fortunately, the finals schedule was relatively long, which gave him some recovery time," Carlisle added.

Walker was injured in the sixth game of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Pacers and the Knicks two days ago, when he had an unnatural twist on his right foot when he tried to block his opponent's breakthrough in the early fourth quarter. He persisted for two rounds on the court, and then returned to the locker room with the help of two team doctors, but failed to return to the game.

Walker didn't play much time in the series against the Knicks, and played in the sixth game for 7 minutes and scored two points. He is the Pacers' eighth pick in the first round of the 2023 draft.