Larry Nance Jr. Listed Doubtful With Illness as Pacers Limp Into Monday

The Indiana Pacers are already off to a brutal 2-5 start, and now they might have to face the Atlanta Hawks without their veteran frontcourt presence. According to Underdog NBA, Larry Nance Jr. is officially listed as doubtful for Monday night with an illness.

Being doubtful with a mystery illness in early November is the NBA equivalent of texting your boss that you have food poisoning because it is raining outside. You cannot technically prove it is a lie, but everyone in the group chat knows exactly what is happening when a struggling team suddenly has guys catching colds.

"Underdog NBA reported: 'Larry Nance Jr. (illness) listed doubtful Monday.'"

To be fair, missing Nance is not exactly going to send shockwaves through the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The 33-year-old is averaging just 3.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in about 16 minutes a night for Indiana this season.

If you are the one sicko out there betting the over on Larry Nance Jr. points props, first of all, please seek help. Second of all, you will need to find a new way to sweat out four points tonight because the sportsbooks are pulling those lines off the board.

The Pacers desperately need a win against Atlanta to stop the bleeding and save whatever early-season momentum they have left. Without Nance eating up backup minutes, expect the rest of the Indiana frontcourt to absorb a slightly heavier workload to keep things afloat.

We will get a final update closer to the 7:30 p.m. tipoff, but do not expect to see him in uniform. If Indiana drops another game tonight, do not be shocked if a few more veterans suddenly come down with the sniffles before Wednesday's matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.