Tyrese Haliburton missed games three and four with a re-aggravated hamstring injury that he had originally suffered during his All-NBA campaign this season. His injury of course was only one of the main injuries this postseason but he affected the Pacers/Celtics series more than can be imagined.
Already without a 15-point-per-game scorer in Bennedict Mathurin, losing your star player in the most important game of the series is a recipe for disaster. The Pacers ended up losing 4-0 in the series, but Andrew Nembhard and company stepped up and kept all games but game two super close and on the verge of winning those three.
There is some uncertainty over free agency and any trades that might happen in the offseason. Staying healthy is one that needs to be looked at as Haliburton was not the only player to miss some time over the season, as Nembhard and Jalen Smith both missed multiple games with different injuries.
As we transition into the new season where the Pacers want to one-up the ECF appearance from this year and make it to the Promised Land for the first time since 2000, there needs to be a great offseason in the making and to make sure players get healthy.
This is a team that cannot afford to lose too many players to injury, especially their 24-year-old star, who was an All-Star and an All-NBA player. Haliburton is their most important player and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. His health is paramount to the team's success.
Haliburton better make sure he's 100% before he plays for Team USA in July. The last thing he needs is to hurt that hamstring again and be hurt to start next season. He needs some rest and relaxation to get his explosiveness back, which was never there once he got hurt.