Tyrese Haliburton must be feeling like he let down the Pacers faithful following his injury in Game 7 loss to the Thunder. In that final game of the season, Haliburton tore his Achilles tendon and fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes. From there, the writing was on the wall for the Indiana Pacers. Haliburton weighted an entire city on his young shoulders, and like a bodybuilding big man, carried the weight without so much as a shoulder shrug. But nobody can carry so many expectations and not push their body to the limit.
The Indiana Pacers have been the team to beat in the East for the past 2 seasons
The Pacers have done incredibly well for a team considered to be a small-market organization. Haliburton joined the Pacers following a stint with the Sacramento Kings and quickly became an All-Star caliber player. His clutch shots and playmaking skills are reminiscent of another Pacers legend, Reggie Miller(who attended the Pacers games in Indiana and Oklahoma City).
Tyrese showed his class and steely determination this season. He made several clutch shots against the likes of the New York Knicks and OKC that broke hearts like a popstar heartthrob. His choke gesture against the Knicks might go down in NBA history, as it sent the Madison Square Garden faithful into silence. The shock of that last-second shot sent shockwaves through the NBA. Something that Haliburton can be proud of.
Haliburton’s injury could keep him out for a long, long time
During Game 7 of the NBA Finals, Haliburton suffered an injury that nobody wants to see happen to any player. In the fourth minute of the first quarter, Tyrese tore his right Achilles tendon when he tried to drive towards the basket. Like a child who broke a glass, Haliburton knew he was in serious trouble immediately. He slapped the floor in clear physical and emotional pain. Love him or hate him, it was heartbreaking to witness.
What you might not know is that a close friend and recent Orlando Magic signing, Desmond Bane, was in the building for Game 7 in Oklahoma City. The two players are close friends, and after Haliburton had surgery to repair his Achilles, Bane has stated that he reached out to “Hali” by saying:
“I was actually texting with him this morning, just more so about life than anything. And yeah, it was hard to tell because when it’s live it’s hard to pickup on the small nuances of what’s going on and things like that but you know once you saw him not getting up off the floor and the way the team and trainers and things like that were reacting you could tell it was something serious. I was just hoping for the best for him. You know, he seems like he’s in decent spirits. I’m sure he’s going to attack this rehab and get back and be better.”
Head coach Rick Carlisle, who raised some eyebrows with his decision to trade Miles Turner to the Bucks, had the following to say regarding Haliburton’s injury:
“All of our hearts dropped. He will be back. …I believe he’ll make a full recovery. He authored one of the great individual playoff runs in the history of the NBA with dramatic play after dramatic play.”
Tyrese Haliburton shares an emotional message from his hospital bed
Like a true warrior, Tyrese has taken the injury as well as one could. He shared an emotional message to the Pacers fans from his hospital bed after surgery to repair his Achilles tendon. The Pacers have reached the Conference and NBA Finals respectively for the past two seasons, but ultimately failed in both instances. By trading Miles Turner to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Pacers now have a gap in the center position. Can Rick Carlisle do his magic once again and develop the team into a title contender for the 2025-26 season?
