Tyrese

Haliburton

Siakam looked sharp during his 24 minutes of game action on Monday. He displayed his smooth midrange jump shot and showed in this game that his career-best three-point shooting season in 2024-25 was not a fluke. The veteran forward has played well in his two preseason appearances and seems ready to potentially take on a bigger workload on the offensive end as Tyrese Haliburton recovers from an Achilles injury. A stellar fantasy basketball season could be on the horizon for Siakam.

Mathurin logged his most productive outing of the preseason thus far, eclipsing the 30-point mark on efficient shooting against the Spurs. The fourth-year guard did most of his damage in the first half, where he scored 27 points on 9-of-9 shooting, including four three-pointers. Mathurin, a part-time starter last season, should have an opportunity to see more production and opportunities in Tyrese Haliburton’s absence (leg). He’s likely to begin the season in the starting unit.

As feared, Haliburton’s injury is severe, and it will likely cost him all of next season. It’s a brutal development for the emerging superstar, especially after the magical playoff run he led. In Hali’s absence, T.J. McConnell could see a big uptick in playing time and usage, while Ben Sheppard could see more time off the bench, and Andrew Nembhard could take on more responsibility as a facilitator.

Haliburton slipped on the court and appeared to sustain a serious injury to his lower right leg. He went down immediately and began banging the court in anguish. It was a near carbon copy of the Achilles injury suffered earlier this postseason by Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum. The 25-year-old point guard was unable to put any weight on his leg while being helped to the locker room and we don’t need official confirmation to know that his night is over. Haliburton was off to his best first quarter of the Finals, nailing three of four triples in just seven minutes. In his stead, expect big minutes from T.J. McConnell and additional playing time for the likes of Ben Sheppard and Obi Toppin. In the longterm, if the injury is indeed an Achilles, Hali could be forced to miss most, if not all, of next season.

Haliburton played through the injury in Indiana’s decisive Game 6 victory, and there was never much of a doubt that he’d gut it out to play in the winner-take-all Game 7.

While Haliburton disclosed Saturday afternoon that he’s still dealing with soreness and stiffness in his strained right calf, he said that he’ll be good to go for Sunday’s series decider. The Pacers have officially listed the point guard as questionable, but the sporting world expects to see him on the court. With Haliburton being at less than full strength, the Pacers will likely need another standout performance from backup point guard T.J. McConnell if they’re to win their first NBA title.

“Good thing I only had to play like 23 minutes,” Haliburton said. “I’ve been able to get even more treatment and do more things. Just trying to take care of it the best I can.” This will be the first Game 7 in the Finals since 2016, so there’s no way Haliburton sits out. They’ll continue to manage his injury, and if it’s bothering him to the point that he isn’t helping the team by being out there, they may choose to sit him. However, that wasn’t the case in Game 6, and if it means winning a championship, they will likely have no issues pushing him way past 23 minutes.

This game could not have gone any better for the Pacers. They took control in the second quarter and extended the lead after halftime, which allowed them to manage Haliburton’s minutes. There were reports that if this were the regular season, Haliburton would likely be in line to miss multiple weeks. He showed incredible resilience by even suiting up, and while the numbers weren’t eye-popping, he played really well in this game and hit some big shots to help them take a big lead. They’ll continue to monitor his injury, but it would be shocking if he didn’t play in Game 7 on Sunday with a championship on the line.

Carlisle said that Haliburton went through strength testing and did “very well.” He also mentioned that there won’t be a minutes restriction, but they will monitor Haliburton closely. Trips to the NBA Finals don’t come around often, so it isn’t surprising that Haliburton will play through the injury. We’ll see if Haliburton’s presence, along with the home crowd, is enough to force a Game 7.

Haliburton is currently listed as questionable with a right calf strain. The 25-year-old point guard participated in practice on Wednesday and is expected to go through a walkthrough ahead of Game 6 on Thursday. Charania said he was told Haliburton would miss multiple weeks if this were the regular season, but this game carries paramount importance as the Pacers are facing elimination in Game 6. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said earlier this week Haliburton would probably be a game-time decision.