Pacers Executive Believes Indiana Would Have Won NBA Finals if Tyrese Haliburton Didn't Get Hurt

The Indiana Pacers watched their chances of winning their first NBA championship fade away as star point guard Tyrese Haliburton fell to the ground in pain seven minutes into Game 7. 

Haliburton battled through a calf strain throughout the NBA Finals. The Pacers said whether he would play in Game 6 would be a “game-time decision”.

The two-time NBA All-Star ultimately started in Indiana’s win-or-go home and helped the Pacers force a Game 7. But Haliburton was not able to preserve through the championship game and exited in the first quarter with a torn Achilles tendon.

The Oklahoma City Thunder went on to defeat the Pacers 103-91. 

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Pacers executive Kevin Pritchard said he believes Indiana would have won the championship if Haliburton was healthy.

"In my mind, no one can tell me that we weren't going to win a championship if Ty stays healthy," Pritchard said. "You know, that's biased. I understand that. That's very biased. But I really believe. He had that eye of the tiger, man."

Haliburton influenced the Pacers’ decision to allow him to play in Game 6 and Game 7. He wanted to play through the pain to help bring the NBA title back to Indiana.

“I’m a competitor. I want to play. I’m going to do everything in my power to play,” Haliburton said before Game 6. “I want to be out there. That’s the plan."

Haliburton is expected to miss all of next season recovering from the torn Achilles. But Pritchard said Haliburton has not regretted his decision to play in those last two games, despite the severe injury it resulted in.

"We felt we were a little bit out of the woods and we weren't, obviously," Pritchard said. "... He's told me many times — and this just shows you what kind of kid he is — 'I would do it over and over.'"

Meanwhile, Pritchard said if he could, he would go back and keep Haliburton out of the game to preserve the health of the young star.

"If you're asking me, would I have him do it over and over? I would not." Pritchard said. "If I knew that he was going to get hurt, I would sacrifice that game because I care for the kid so much and want him to have an incredible career."

While the Pacers could make the playoffs next season, winning the NBA title without Haliburton is unlikely.

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