The Indiana Pacers have been dealing with a crazy amount of injuries to open the 2025-26 NBA season. Just 15 days into the year, and they have eight players on the shelf. Yes, you read that correctly. Eight different Indiana players are already hurt. The Pacers injuries are no joke.
As they prepare to battle the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night, they have just signed their third different player since the season began. Mac McClung and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl have both seen spot minutes since entering the fold.
And now, welcome Cody Martin. The six-year veteran who spent his first 5.5 seasons in Charlotte before being dealt to the Suns at the deadline, is coming to Indy.
Where Cody Martin Helps the Pacers
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The news broke via HoopsHype’s Mike Scotto on Wednesday morning that Cody Martin would be joining the Indiana Pacers via hardship exception. The team has been dealing with guys going down all over the place, leaving them with holes all over the place.
Indiana prepares to battle the only winless team left in the association in the Brooklyn Net. And now, they finally have a little help on the way. What they get in Martin is a solid wing who brings some much needed experience to a very banged-up bunch.
Martin, who has appeared in 259 career games since entering the league, is a 31% career shooter from beyond the arc. As seen in the video below, he also does a great job of slashing and finishing at the rim.
What the Nevada product will also bring here is confidence. The Pacers have been using a lot of guys who just don’t have the on-court experience. Now comes someone who has averaged 22 minutes per game over the course of his career.
After Wednesday’s game with Brooklyn, Indy luckily has three days off before a tough weekend back-to-back, so they have a good chance with Martin to take a game.
Projecting the Indiana Pacers Winning Recipe
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There have been two players who have been readily available for the Indiana Pacers for every game. They would be Pascal Siakam, and Aaron Nesmith. In Siakam, you know you’re getting a gamer that has won a title and can step up and rise to any occasion.
With Nesmith, you have a guy playing lockdown defense on one end, and hitting soul-crushing three-pointers on the other. Though the Pacers wing is hitting just 34% of his threes, he has made four or more triples in three games this season.
As for Siakam, he has averaged 26-8-5, and already has three games of at least 30 points. The issue has been that nobody else around them has been able to play every night. The hope will be that Cody Martin can help give the team a bit of a spark, and perhaps inspire strong play from those around them.
Quenton Jackson did have one big performance against the Warriors, which included his first-ever NBA double-double. But he has contributed very little outside of that. He is one of the eight guys out against Brooklyn.
The expectations for Martin’s debut should be to see him get 25-30 minutes. He hasn’t scored in double-digits since before last year’s trade deadline, but he should have enough attempts to get there. Along with Siakam and Nesmith, he should be able to help the team past a struggling Nets team.
Hang in there Pacers fans. Help is on the way.
Indiana Pacers Signing Six-Year Veteran