Joe Mazzulla says it doesn’t matter that the Indiana Pacers are missing Tyrese Haliburton in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals because it’s the playoffs and anyone can step up.
Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton exited Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics due to a left hamstring injury. With him officially ruled out of Saturday night's Game 3 matchup, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports we may have seen the last of the two-time All-Star this series.
"The Pacers are going to err on the side of caution with this left hamstring injury, and for that reason, you may have seen Tyrese Haliburton for the last time in this series," Wojnarowski stated on ESPN's NBA Countdown.
Despite the Pacers being down 2-0 in the series, Wojnarowski believes they will play it safe and not rush the 24-year-old back to the floor. In the Pacers' previous round against the New York Knicks, OG Anunoby found himself in a similar situation. After missing time with an injury, Anunoby rushed his timeline to will himself to play in Game 7, but his return may have hurt the team as New York lost to Indiana.
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"[The Pacers] are not going to put him in a position where if he went out and played, it's going to look like OG Anunoby in Game 7 for the Knicks against Indiana, where he was so limited in what he could do," Wojnarowski said of Haliburton.
For Haliburton, this isn't a new injury. Back in January -- also against the Celtics -- Haliburton suffered a non-contact injury to his left hamstring that sidelined him for 10 total games.
"He's part of the US Olympic team this summer -- Grant Hill selected him as one of Team USA's guards," Wojnarowski added on why Haliburton may remain sidelined. "Certainly, they're going to reassess this on Monday ahead of Game 4, but I think there's real doubt that Tyrese Haliburton will be back in Game 4 -- and perhaps even again in this series -- as much as he would love to rejoin this Indiana team and try and give them a chance down 2-0 versus Boston."
Through his 15 playoff games this year, Haliburton averaged 18.7 points on a 48.8 percent clip, 8.2 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals.
