Ivica Zubac Questionable as Battered Pacers Limp Toward the Lottery

The Indiana Pacers are currently 15-54, riding a 14-game losing streak, and fielding a roster that looks like a randomly generated simulation. Now, according to Underdog NBA, starting center Ivica Zubac is listed as questionable for Wednesday with an ankle injury.

If you are actively betting on a mid-March game between a tanking Indiana squad and the Portland Trail Blazers, you might need a wellness check. But for those sickos grinding the late-season props market, Zubac's status is the difference between a playable board and a total guessing game.

"Underdog NBA reported Zubac is questionable for Wednesday with an ankle injury."

Zubac has actually been one of the few stable pieces for Indiana since arriving at the trade deadline. Over his first four games in a Pacers uniform, he is averaging a clean 10 points and seven rebounds in just under 24 minutes a night.

The problem is that he is joining an injury report that reads like a CVS receipt. Indiana already has 13 other guys banged up, including Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, meaning a Zubac absence leaves the frontcourt completely hollowed out.

Meanwhile, Portland is sitting at 33-36 and desperately clinging to the final Play-In spot in the Western Conference. They hold a comfortable nine-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies for the ten seed, but they still need to actually win the games on their schedule to avoid a total collapse.

We will likely get a final word on Zubac closer to tipoff on Wednesday. If his ankle keeps him in street clothes, expect the Trail Blazers to feast inside, while the Pacers continue their march toward the best lottery odds humanly possible.