Tyrese Haliburton was ruled out quickly by the Pacers after suffering a scary lower right leg injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The team gave no further update on their star guard in the aftermath of the injury, but ESPN reporter Lisa Salters got more clarity about the injury from Haliburton’s father John on Sunday night.
“Mr Haliburton confirmed it was an Achilles injury,” Salters said. “He said Tyrese is doing as well as he can be under the circumstances. The entire family is back there with him, his mom, his dad, his brother. He said he seems to be in good spirits. He’s watching the game and trying to root on his team from back in the locker room.”
Many injury analysts on social media suspect that Haliburton suffered a torn achilles after he collapsed to the ground on the play seven minutes into the game. Haliburton had erupted for nine points in those opening minutes, knocking down three 3s while playing through a calf strain that he suffered in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Haliburton reportedly would have been sidelined for multiple weeks with the calf strain if it occurred during the regular season. He did play through the injury in Game 6 without suffering a setback before his leg gave out in the first quarter of Game 7.
If Haliburton is diagnosed with an Achilles tear, he will become the third star player in the Eastern Conference to suffer the injury during the postseason over the last two months. Damian Lillard suffered the injury in the Bucks’ first round series against the Pacers. Jayson Tatum also went down with an Achilles tear in Game 4 of the Celtics’ loss to the Knicks last month. Kevin Durant also suffered an Achilles tear while playing through a calf strain in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals.
