The Pacers need help and they may get a backcourt boost from George Hill as his return from a bruised knee/strained quad is getting close. Frank Vogel addressed Hill's injury status prior to his team's game with the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

"George is expected to practice full-out this week and build his conditioning as much as possible and get back as soon as possible, but still no timeline," Vogel said. "He's going to be practicing this week with the intent to try to get back pretty soon."

Vogel went on to confirm Hill hasn't taken part in a full practice yet and that he will travel with the team but it is unlikely he will play in one of the three road games this week. He didn't rule out the possibility, though which seems to indicate Hill's return depends on how the knee and/or quad responds to the additional practice time.

The Pacers hit the road for the remainder of the week playing the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday before working their way back home against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. The two off days present additional practice time on the road which could determine Hill's status for the final two games.

A return in Minnesota would be fitting since that is where Hill suffered the initial injury during the third quarter of the Pacers preseason loss at Minnesota.