UNSCRIPTED: Tyrese Haliburton: Was the REWARD worth the RISK?
Unscripted By Keith Edmonds
FWIS Contributing Writer
“Honestly, at 25 I’ve learned that God doesn’t give us more than we can handle. Though this sucks right now, I would make the same decision to play again and again, and again. To fight for this city, and my brothers on the Pacers. I don’t regret one minute the decision that I made to play, torn Achilles and all!”
- Tyrese Haliburton (Point guard, Indiana Pacers)
As many of you know, our Indiana Pacers recently finished playing in the NBA Finals where they lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 7 games (4-3). It was a series that captivated many fans, coaches and as for the state of Indiana... We were in a FRENZY!
The Pacers (who many were surprised made it to the finals) gave the Thunder fits for those 7 games and started off the final game (in OKC) leading the game when... the unthinkable, unimaginable, unscripted, happened!! The Pacers starting point guard Tyrese Haliburton who’d made 3 out of his first 4 shots (ALL 3 pointers!) made a move that turned the ENTIRE GAME! He went down in pain in the 1ST QUARTER (tearing his Achilles Tendon) and so did the fortunes of the Pacers! They battled and hung on for dear life but eventually succumbed to an extraordinarily talented Thunder team led by finals MVP Shai Gilgeous Alexander 103-91 to lose the series.
The question that many people and experts have asked is: Did Haliburton (who was nursing a calf strain) do the right thing by playing on it taking a HUGE risk for more injury? For me, I have to look inside and ask myself, WOULD I HAVE PLAYED in that finals game? The answer that comes to me immediately is: I sure would have! This is the NBA FINALS, something few players EVER have an opportunity to play in. With this being the 7th game and everything on the line, Haliburton (understanding the risks involved in playing on a calf strain) decided to play, and I don’t question his decision, not one bit! You don’t get to the 7th game of the NBA Finals often and many talented players never even make it to 1 NBA final let alone play in Game 7!
Now, these types of injuries have occurred to many great players recently with Damion Lillard, and Jason Tatum, being victims of this injury this season, and are attempting to come back and play All Star basketball for their respective teams, but there are no guarantees! There’s no telling how each of them will look post-injury, but we do have recent examples of players coming back to their pre-injury status in Kobe Bryant, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant.
So, what does this mean for the Pacers moving forward into next season, as injuries of this nature typically take an entire season to recover from? Well, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle stated, “This next season we’ll put the ball in the very capable hands of Andrew Nembhard and TJ McConnell who will lead us, and we trust that our management will get us any additional help that we need to get back to THIS level of performance.”
What I find interesting is that many of us have been left wondering if the BEST team won this particular final? I know that OKC had the 3rd most wins in NBA history with a total of 84 (counting the regular season and play-offs) but were they just handed a “gift” when Haliburton got hurt in Game 7? Will their championship be labeled with an *asterisk? Yes, injuries are a part of the game, and we all know that but as Emmanuel Acho, from online network The Facility’s, stated: Haliburton’s injury left him wondering if the best team won this series! “I don’t know if the best team won this series. I don’t just say this as a fan or someone that supports Tyrese Haliburton, but I just don’t think that we can concretely say that the Thunder are the NBA Champions.” Did the NBA just crown the RIGHT Champion folks? I guess we’ll never know... Get better soon Tyrese and we’ll see you in the 2026-2027 season. Thank you Indiana Pacers for a remarkable ride this season!