Tyrese Haliburton’s absence has definitely been a massive pendulum swinger for the Indiana Pacers, as the team has gone winless since their leading scorer and assists man went down due to injury against New York. Quite frankly, they have looked like one of, if not the worst team in the association during that stretch, barely even flirting with a dub in all of their contests, save for a blunder in Milwaukee.
However, as if to add insult to injury, Haliburton’s latest injury update offers a grim sneak peek on what’s to come for this Pacers squad in the near future, considering their schedule and on-court struggles without their best player.
Latest Tyrese Haliburton injury update could further doom the Indiana Pacers for the short-term
Speaking on The Old Man & The Three podcast, Haliburton bared that he’s targeting an early February return from injury, which is in line with the the team’s approximate timeline of two weeks, when he’s slated to be reevaluated.
"I hurt my elbow, I hurt my knee. Probably doing too much, that’s why that happened. It usually happens that way. Re-evaluated at the end of the month. Starting to get stronger every day, feeling better every day. Got my second opinion. So things are going well."
Overall, this is good news for the Pacers, as elbow and knee injuries can be quite temperamental and tend to recur when setbacks loom. However, this is still just a projection, and it’s pretty reasonable if the team decides to be more conservative in handling his return.
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Even so, Indiana’s schedule doesn’t get any softer from here on out, meaning that fans shouldn’t expect a lot to change for the team on the wins department. Including tonight’s road game against West-leading Denver, the Pacers will face four playoff teams (in the present) in Milwaukee, Memphis, Sacramento, and Cleveland until February 5.
That may seem like a short list, but the other non-playoff squads on deck are far from sure wins. Phoenix, Chicago, Orlando, and the LA Lakers are starting to find their groove and arguably boast more talented rosters than Indiana without Haliburton.
It will be a trek from here on out for the Indiana Pacers for the next couple of weeks in the playoff race still, but ultimately, what matters the most is for Tyrese Haliburton to return without any setbacks and risks. There are still lots of games to catch up anyway, and this season has always been about developing this young roster more than anything.