NBA Playoffs: Indiana Pacers' Caris LeVert Will Miss Extended Time

The Indiana Pacers have a heft injury report on Tuesday, which includes Caris LeVert. Tuesday's report could surely shake up the NBA Playoffs in the East.

The 2021 NBA Playoffs are almost here. As the season concluded on Sunday night, teams who have made the postseason, including the Philadelphia 76ers, will have the week off as the NBA's fairly new Play-In tournament begins.

Among those in the Eastern Conference involved are the Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, and the Indiana Pacers. The seventh-seeded Celtics and the eighth-seeded Wizards will face each other on Tuesday night while the Pacers and the Hornets will play beforehand.

For the first game, the Pacers are favored over the Hornets as they're ranked just one spot ahead of them in ninth place. However, Indiana's injury report is quite concerning heading into the do-or-die Play-In matchup.

Injury Report:

Brogdon - Questionable (right hamstring)
A. Holiday - Questionable (right toe)
Lamb - Out (left knee)
LeVert - Out (health & safety protocols)
Sabonis - Questionable (left quad)
Sumner - Questionable (left knee)
Turner - Out (right toe)
Warren - Out (left foot)

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 18, 2021

According to Indiana's Tuesday afternoon injury report, the Pacers have four players listed as questionable and four already ruled out. As expected, T.J. Warren and Myles Turner remain out as they have been for a while now.

Jeremy Lamb, who's dealing with a sore knee, is also among those who are already out. While Indiana anticipated having Caris LeVert in the mix since he wasn't dealing with any setbacks lately, it turns out he'll miss some extended time moving forward.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, LeVert was suddenly added to the NBA's health and safety protocol on Tuesday. Considering players typically spend 10-to-14 days in the protocol at the least, LeVert could miss more than just Tuesday's game if the Pacers indeed advance to the playoffs.

Getting past the elimination matchup on Tuesday will be difficult, though. With Malcolm Brogdon, Aaron Holiday, Domantas Sabonis, and Edmond Sumner all listed as questionable, the Pacers have been dealt a tough hand at the worst possible time this season.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.