Everyone is excited to see Tyrese Haliburton back on the court. The Indiana Pacers superstar took a full year off from NBA basketball after tearing his Achilles in Game 7 of the NBA Finals just over a year ago.
While Pacers fans deserve the joy Haliburton brings on the court, and while his return will make or break the next era of Pacers basketball, there needs to be patience as he returns.
Inevitably, there will be a point this season when something doesn't go to plan, whether that means the team's financial situation necessitates trades, or the veteran presences aren't playing up to par, or the bench turns out to be just as weak as we thought.
Something will go wrong. It is simply what happens.
However, the easiest answer to what will go wrong, and as such what fans can prepare for, is that Tyrese Haliburton is not the same player he was when we last saw him. That can be a short- or long- term prognosis, but it would be a sail-deflating moment regardless.
That does not mean that Pacers fans should let it bring in the dread it surely can.
The joys of cautious optimism
The Pacers are, ultimately, built to go for a championship this year. They were willing to sell on the young talent their gap-year pick could hold in favor of Ivica Zubac and the present value the 29-year-old center brings.
But that all depends on Haliburton's return. He is the engine that makes any of this possible. The point guard rotation behind him does not have enough for this team to work if he is not ready or capable of doing so.
He is, unfortunately, all that matters.
So why worry? Why not just shrug and acknowledge that en route to hoping that the worry won't be realized?
There's a bit of freedom in the fact that there is nothing anyone can do. And if there's one thing at the heart of being a fan, it is hope.
Tyrese Haliburton deserves the hope that he will return to his top form. Pacers fans deserve the hope that he will as well. It is within that balance that this question is answered. The only thing we can do this season is trust until the bell rings.
Haliburton will surely return with rust. Achilles injuries are, after all, career-ending injuries. While Indiana's season must start fast to keep pace with an Eastern Conference that has rapidly improved, the most important thing is health in the playoffs.
In that way, optimism that the team, specifically Haliburton, will start strong is the perfect way to go into the season. Despite how stupid it may seem, believing that the team will figure it out if they start poorly is also the perfect way to go through the system.
To be clear, there is no reason to eat the proverbial lotus flower and to assume that everything will blindly work out. There will be a moment of no return when things are over, and everyone will need to accept it.
But, that moment will only come when the team decides to give up, when trades and deadline sales come for a core of excellent complimentary pieces.
It ain't over til it's over.
Believe that til the end.
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