Aaron Nesmith
Nesmith is Indiana's returning starting wing, and he is coming back from a left hamstring strain with his minutes still capped at about 20 a night.
Role
He missed the Oct. 21 opener. He played 20 minutes off the bench against Dallas on Oct. 23 (NBA.com game log). NBC Sports reported on Oct. 25 that he returned to the starting five against Brooklyn. He played 19 minutes in that Nets win and scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting with 2 threes (NBA.com game log). Kelly Oubre started in his absence and is the first fill-in if he is limited. Jarace Walker is also named as a candidate for added minutes. Rotowire's note says Sheppard is out two weeks or more, and NBC says Nesmith absorbs most of Sheppard's minutes. Obi Toppin, Slawson and Quenton Jackson are also in the rotation mix. I did not find a published usage rate, and I did not read a current starting-lineup or minutes-tracker page.
He is back in the starting five and the hamstring has not visibly slowed him. His shooting gives him a scoring and three-point floor, and Fox Sports calls him a reliable source of points and triples. He averaged 13.8 points and 2.3 threes in 2025-26, and the minutes cap should lift as he gets further from the injury. Both of his appearances so far came in games where he logged 19 to 20 minutes.
He has already missed time with the hamstring, and he was limited to 45 games last season by neck, ankle and back problems. Reports said he could be on a minutes restriction. Fox Sports notes he adds little outside points and threes. Oubre and Toppin are in the rotation, and one note had them playing more than Walker against Dallas. His preseason and early-season efficiency has been uneven, including 28.6% shooting against Dallas.
Where analysts split
The disagreement is whether the roughly 20-minute cap is a short hamstring-management measure or a lasting reduction, and whether he holds the starting job once Oubre is fully healthy and settled. NBC and Rotowire both flag a possible minutes restriction. Rotowire's player page also says his path to minutes is clouded, though the same page records him as available on Oct. 25. Only two games have been played, so I found no analyst arguing either side directly.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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