Pacers head coach Nate McMillan will be away from the team for the next two days and won’t travel to Charlotte for Friday’s game against the Hornets.
Longtime assistant coach Dan Burke, on staff with Indiana since 1997, will coach the team Friday.
“Coach Burke will be taking over practice (Thursday) and I will be missing the game in Charlotte,” McMillan said after they squeaked out a win over the shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday evening, 105-101. “I won’t be traveling with the team for personal reasons. I will be back to coach the game on Saturday against Philadelphia.”
This McMillan-led team has won five of its last six games, including three in a row, and are sixth in the Eastern Conference (29-23).
“DB [Dan Burke] has a very active role on the coaching staff so not much is going to change,” Myles Turner said. “I think he’s going to be fine.”
“It’s going to be different,” starting point guard Darren Collison added. “It’s always different when your head coach is not there but we still have a game to win.”
It will be the Pacers’ second time in five games playing the Hornets, who won Wednesday night in Atlanta by 13 points. For the Hornets, Friday’s game is their lone home contest over an eight-game stretch.
Former IU teammates Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller plan to have dinner — on Zeller — Thursday night in Charlotte.