Tyrese Haliburton sending Pacers a message with risky decision

With two wins and a loss under their belt so far, the Indiana Pacers are off to a relatively good start to the season. Of course, the more important thing is that Tyrese Haliburton, who missed all of last season with an Achilles injury, is looking like he hasn't missed a beat at all. 

The expectation is that the Pacers will be conservative with the All-Star guard this season. However, Haliburton himself is already challenging that notion. After their most recent win over the Nets, he told reporters that he will be playing on the second leg of their back-to-back against the Bucks.

So much for being overly cautious, huh.

Tyrese Haliburton is taking a risk by playing in a back-to-back for the Pacers

Even without Haliburton, Indiana should have enough to beat an inferior Milwaukee squad, but by opting to play that game despite it being on the second night of a back-to-back, Haliburton is taking a bit of a risk and sending a strong message to the Pacers brass.

Indiana will surely prefer to exercise a world of caution with their franchise player, but Haliburton seems to believe that he is way healthier than people make him out to be. True enough, he looks fluid to start the season, already being a frequent customer in the highlight reels with his smooth, creative improvisations with the ball.

The Pacers will be in the thick of the playoff race in the East, so each win is important. Haliburton is already committing himself to that cause by not being amenable to missing games by design. There is probably no stronger showing of devotion to winning than that.

For now, the team seems content letting Haliburton do the decision-making by listening to his body and being the one to make the call. Whether that will pay off or not remains to be seen, but the Pacers have to be thrilled that he is healthy enough to be taking such risks.