Pacers list Obi Toppin questionable and Aaron Nesmith probable for Sunday against the Nets, who rule out Mikel Brown Jr.

The Indiana Pacers listed Obi Toppin as questionable with low back soreness and Aaron Nesmith as probable with a left hamstring strain for Sunday’s home game against the Brooklyn Nets, while Brooklyn ruled out rookie Mikel Brown Jr. for back injury management, the league’s 5:30 p.m. ET report on Saturday showed.

Both teams arrive banged up and looking for a lift. Indiana is 2-4 after a 145-125 loss in Miami on Friday, and Brooklyn is 0-5 after the Detroit Pistons pulled away with a 31-7 burst the same night.

Indiana’s thin frontcourt

Toppin missed the loss in Miami, and the Pacers turned to Kobe Brown for 20 minutes off the bench in his place. His availability carries extra weight because Ivica Zubac is out with a left ankle sprain. Toppin’s role has grown with Zubac sidelined: he scored 16 against the Nets on October 25 and 14 against the Milwaukee Bucks a night later.

Nesmith missed the season opener with the hamstring strain and has been on and off the report since. A probable tag usually means he plays, but the Pacers host the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, the second night of a back-to-back, so his workload may be watched.

The guard line is still short. Tyrese Haliburton (left hamstring strain) and T.J. McConnell (right hamstring strain) are out, as are Ben Sheppard (left meniscus surgery) and Johnny Furphy (right ACL surgery), which leaves Andrew Nembhard with most of the ball-handling.

Brooklyn without two young guards

Mikel Brown Jr. had 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and four threes in Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Boston Celtics. According to Nets beat reporter Billy Reinhardt, the team is not yet comfortable playing him on both nights of back-to-backs, and he should be available Monday against the New York Knicks. Egor Demin (right bone bruise) is also out, along with four players on G League assignments.

Every status is tracked on the injury report.

What comes next

The Nets visit the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday, November 1, at 5 p.m. ET (Game Center). Indiana then hosts Atlanta on Monday, November 2 (Game Center), and Brooklyn plays at New York the same night (Game Center).