On Thursday it was reported that Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton had suffered multiple injuries in the loss to the New York Knicks. This came from both Woj:
Pacers say that Tyrese Haliburton sprained his left elbow and absorbed a mild left knee bruise and will be reevaluated in two weeks. Team is also awaiting additional opinion on the results of the scans.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 12, 2023
And Shams:
Pacers say Tyrese Haliburton has a left elbow sprain and a mild left knee bone contusion and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 12, 2023
So the question is what should the Pacers do now? If two weeks is the longest time, we could potentially hope for the team to get back on track after his absence.
Unfortunately, this starts to muddy the waters of what the Pacers should do. They could certainly start losing quickly, move off of veterans, and hope to get into the upper lottery. This would give players like Andrew Nembhard more time to get onto the floor and develop for a run at the playoffs next season.
Much of this depends on what the Pacers know that they aren’t telling people. Does reevaluate in two weeks look promising or not? Is this the team being conservative or is a 2 week timeline aggressive? The answers to these questions could really matter in the upcoming week.
Additionally, this could shed some light on what the Pacers may decide to do on the trade market. If the Pacers believe they no longer have a chance at making a run in the playoffs, perhaps they are more likely to move off of a contract like Turner and hope to draft his replacement in the upcoming 2023 NBA draft, of which, the Pacers have three first-round picks.
It’s probably best for fans not too panic until we know more.
Again, much of this boils down to the level of optimism the Pacers’ management has about the Haliburton injury. If they really think Tyrese is back in two weeks, perhaps they try and hold steady and let players like Mathurin, Nembhard, and Hield keep the ship steady in his absence.
But if there is any indication that this could be a longer term injury, Pacers’ management would be wise to change course now, or else we could end up without additional playoff experience and stuck squarely in the middle of the NBA for another 5-6 years. Leadership will have to operate with wisdom in the next couple of weeks because it could determine the trajectory of this team for years to come.
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