Realistic Expectations for Haliburton's Achilles' Comeback

Pacer’s teammate Pascal Siakam added, “I’m proud of that kid, you know. He went through so much during the year. A lot of criticism. It’s a lot for a young kid to go through, and like he had a lot of stress, a lot of — and he just kept fighting. He kept fighting every single day.”

Former Indiana Pacers guard Darrell Armstrong is someone who has seen numerous players, such as J.J. Barea, Dwight Powell, and Wesley Matthews, during his time as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks dealing with this same injury. In a recent interview shared his opinion on what the Pacers and their fans should expect from Haliburton in his first season coming off his Achilles injury.

“Well, I mean, that's a good question. That's going to go on the medical side, making sure he's not rushed back, even though it's been over a year, almost a couple of months now. He needs to get back on his feet the way he needs to, slowly coming in," Armstrong said.

"That's on them. That's going to be something they really monitor throughout the summertime, probably volunteer workouts in September, and training camp. Because you want to make sure he doesn't rush into anything, and that's the first thing players want to do.....

They want to get back out there and just go, but it might not be meant for you to go right away. It might be meant for them to groom you, move you in slowly, and then build and work your way up. So, everything's going to come down to the medical side, how they feel with him, where his progress is right now, and where he needs to be by the time it gets to training camp.”

Last month, Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson reported that after the Pacers dropped photos on social media of their cornerstone player, Tyrese Haliburton, back in the facility working on the court. Robinson delivered the news, that Haliburton has not been in the facility alone this offseason; Pacers big man Ivica Zubac has also been getting some extra work in.

Per Robinson, the Pacers are looking to extend Zubac’s range behind the three-point line to provide space for Haliburton and the rest of the guards to go to work in the mid-range and to attack the basket.

As for a more recent update on Haliburton’s health in his new original series featured on YouTube.

"Well this is my week 52," Haliburton said in part (40-second mark).

"This is my one year. Man, I'm feeling so good. I'm playing five-on-five, doing our workouts every day. I can pretty much say I'm back at this point. I feel like I'm back in shape, but there's a difference between like being in shape and being in Tyrese Haliburton shape.”

"I feel like they're two different things. I like to play fast, so I know I got to get back to there, which will take some time."