Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton Expected To Play In Game 6

If the Indiana Pacers are to have a chance to extend the NBA Finals to a Game 7, many will tell it’s because star point guard Tyrese Haliburton plays in Game 6.

Well, the good news for the Pacers is that Haliburton intends to give it a go, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. Haliburton is suffering from a right calf strain and failed to make a field goal in the Pacers’ Game 5 loss. Coach Rick Carlisle previously called him a game-time decision for Thursday night in Indiana.

“From my understanding, he has every intention of playing tonight,” Charania said on The Pat McAfee Show. “… Unless there’s some kind of a setback there (at the 5:00 pm ET walkthrough) where the medical team (decides to hold him out), he’s fully intending to be out there tonight. He’s going to gut it out. I would expect to have some padding on that calf.”

Later, Charania detailed Haliburton’s injury on NBA Today.

“It is a calf strain. … These are tricky injuries with the calf, we know the implications it could have on the rest of your leg,” Charania said. “I was told today, if this were the regular season, Tyrese Haliburton would be missing multiple weeks. So if he is able to play, how does he look? How sharp does he look? Or how much does he struggle and how much is he limited?”

The Pacers either win two in a row, or the Oklahoma City Thunder will win their first title since relocating from Seattle in 2007.

Haliburton’s availability and impact could go a long way in determining how it all plays out.