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Why the Indiana Pacers Shouldn’t be Too Concerned With Tyrese Haliburton’s Game 2 Leg Injury, Per Expert

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics | By Jordan Samar | Last updated 5/24/24

The Indiana Pacers are in a difficult situation heading into Game 3, as they’re down 0-2 in their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Boston Celtics, and they’re facing the prospect of losing one of their best players on Saturday.

Tyrese Haliburton was subbed off the court with 3:44 left in the third quarter, as he injured his left leg while guarding Jayson Tatum in a pick-and-roll, and it was shortly announced on social media that he wouldn’t return.

This injury on Haliburton is worrying for the Indiana Pacers because he missed 10 regular-season games with a strained hamstring on the same left leg. His numbers dipped following his return from the injury at the end of January, but to his credit, he picked up form during the postseason.

Cautious optimism for the Indiana Pacers

Sports medicine doctor Brian Sutterer shared his take on Tyrese Haliburton’s injury right as it happened. In his latest YouTube video, the renowned medical practitioner said this was merely a re-aggravation of his previous injury.

“Haliburton continued to play. We didn’t see him grab at the hamstring. He actually took the inbounds pass after the (guarding Tatum) play, and sprinted up the court really well. And when we saw him come out of the game with about three and a half minutes left in the third quarter, he just sat on the bench and didn’t even get looked at by the medical staff,” said Sutterer.

“When someone’s got a bad enough hamstring strain as we saw from OG Anunoby, they’re not going to be able to continue sprinting and running up and down the court for two and a half minutes. This does seem to me like something that doesn’t seem as significant as what we’ve seen from other hamstring injuries,” he added.

However, if Haliburton misses time, Andrew Nembhard and TJ McConnell will split the point guard duties. Pascal Siakam will also be tasked with shouldering the offensive cudgels for the Indiana Pacers.