East All-Star, MVP 'Shed a Tear' When Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton Tore Achilles

The Indiana Pacers have never been closer to an NBA championship than they were this past season. They took the Oklahoma City Thunder to Game 7 and felt like they could win it.

Unfortunately for them, their hopes were dashed just seven minutes into that game. Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles, ending any hope they had of an upset victory.

Despite the fact that Indiana held the lead at halftime, they knew that they had no real shot at winning the game. It was an injury that deeply saddened a former MVP of the league.

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While speaking to Dotun Akintoye of ESPN, Joel Embiid talked about how sad that injury made him while watching the game.

When Haliburton went down with about five minutes left in the first quarter, tearing his right Achilles tendon, Embiid turned the game off.

"Unbelievable," he said. "I kind of shed a tear."

Embiid has dealt with more injuries than any other superstar player in the league over the last few years. He certainly understands what it means to miss a season with a devastating injury.

Embiid started his NBA career with some injuries that kept him out multiple years, mainly having to deal with his knees. He felt bad for Haliburton, who gave it his all to help the Pacers win a title.

Haliburton will not play at all next season, after suffering the injury on June 22. That's as late as he possibly could have suffered the injury, so there is no reason to rush him back.

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Indiana is going to have to use next year as a gap year of sorts while Haliburton is out of the lineup. They will use it to figure out who the starting center of the future will be, but they like being counted out.

The Pacers will use motivation from everyone thinking that they have no shot to get back to the Finals, which is just where they like to be. They play the best when they are underdogs.

This past season with Indiana, Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 9.2 assists per game. He shot 47.3 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from deep.

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