Aaron Nesmith Returns to the Pacers Lineup Just in Time to Guard the Mavericks

Aaron Nesmith is officially cleared to play Friday night, which means the Indiana Pacers can finally stop pretending they enjoy playing defense without him. Underdog NBA relayed the update that the starting small forward has shaken off a preseason hamstring strain just in time to face the Dallas Mavericks.

Nesmith sat out Wednesday's 123-120 season-opening win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Missing one game is barely a blip, but for a guy whose medical history reads like a WebMD doom-scroll, getting back on the floor this fast is a massive win for Indiana's rotation.

"Underdog NBA: 'Aaron Nesmith (hamstring) listed available to play Friday.'"

His return completely changes the math for anyone looking at the betting markets tonight. If you were planning to blindly hammer Mavericks wing scoring props, you might want to reconsider now that the Pacers have their primary perimeter stopper back in the mix.

It is also a lot easier for the franchise to manage his health now that they are actually trying to win basketball games. Just a couple of years ago, head coach Rick Carlisle publicly torched the NBA for allegedly asking if Indiana considered medicating an injured Nesmith so he could play while the team was 30 games under .500.

Now that the Pacers are operating as a legitimate Eastern Conference threat, they can afford to treat hamstring strains like actual injuries instead of league-mandated interrogations. They need him healthy for the long haul, not just to eat minutes in a lost season.

Expect Nesmith to slot right back into his usual defensive assignments against Dallas. Assuming his hamstring holds up to the track meet, the Pacers just got their most chaotic glue guy back on the floor.