Ivica Zubac Ruled Out Monday With Yet Another Ankle Sprain
Underdog NBA reported Zubac was questionable to return Sunday before being officially ruled out for Monday.
The Indiana Pacers are officially operating without their primary paint enforcer to start the week. According to Underdog NBA, center Ivica Zubac has been ruled out for Monday's game with a left ankle sprain.
Zubac originally tweaked the ankle on Sunday and was listed as questionable to return before the medical staff ultimately pulled the plug. Now, he is sitting out the second half of the back-to-back entirely.
If you feel like you have read this exact injury update before, your memory is working perfectly. A quick glance at Zubac's medical chart over the last few seasons looks like a copy-paste error, with ankle issues popping up repeatedly in 2024, 2025, and earlier this year.
The good news is that X-rays on the left ankle came back negative. He avoided a catastrophic break, which means we are likely dealing with a standard sprain rather than a season-altering disaster.
Still, his absence leaves a massive void in the middle of the floor. Zubac has been quietly steady for Indiana, pulling down 9.0 rebounds to go with 9.0 points per night. You do not just replace that kind of reliable glass-cleaning with a standard bench rotation.
For anyone holding fantasy shares or looking at the Monday betting board, this completely scrambles the interior math. Opposing big men usually feast when a team's primary rim protector is wearing street clothes, and the rebounding props for Indiana's backup bigs are about to see a serious volume bump.
The Pacers will have to patch together their frontcourt rotation for now. Until the swelling goes down and Zubac can actually put weight on that left foot, expect Indiana to play small and hope they do not get absolutely bullied on the boards.