The Indiana Pacers have been powered by Tyrese Haliburton this season, as the All-Star point guard has taken a massive leap and is the main reason his team is in the hunt for a playoff spot.
Haliburton even led the initial All-Star voting returns among Eastern Conference guards. Everything he’s done this season has been nothing short of incredible.
Unfortunately, on Monday night against the Boston Celtics, Haliburton went down with a scary injury, slipping on the court while driving in the paint and doing the splits as a result.
After halftime of the game, the Pacers tweeted out an initial injury update on Haliburton, calling his injury a “left hamstring strain” and revealing that he would not return to the contest.
Injury Update: Tyrese Haliburton (left hamstring strain) will not return to tonight's game.
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) January 9, 2024
As soon as Haliburton went down, he clutched his hamstring. The young point guard seemed to realize that something was wrong right away, and anyone who saw the incident realized that, too.
Haliburton stayed on the ground hurt for a while, and as soon as he got up to try and walk back to the Pacers bench, it was clear that he couldn’t put much weight on his leg.
Tyrese Haliburton had to be carried to the locker room after doing the splits on a fall 😳
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 9, 2024
Hope he's okay 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Z2REIkW6eh
James Johnson and Buddy Hield carried Haliburton back to the locker room, and the point guard kept a towel over his head. He was in tears as his teammates brought him off the court and down the tunnel.
According to Pacers reporter Scott Agness of the Fieldhouse Files, Haliburton’s agent was at the game and walked back to the locker room with Indiana GM Chad Buchanan. Not a great sign.
Haliburton's agent is at the game and just went back in the tunnel toward the locker room with Pacers GM Chad Buchanan.
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) January 9, 2024
It seems as though Haliburton could miss some time with this injury, especially considering how he reacted when getting carried off the court after it happened.
Indiana is in the hunt for the postseason, and Haliburton is crucial to everything they do, but the main concern at the moment should be about his health.
Expect the team to provide more updates as they run more tests on Haliburton’s hamstring. A strain doesn’t sound too bad, but it’s likely that there’s more to it than the initial report from the team.