Rick Carlisle Clears The Air About Tyrese Haliburton’s Injury

(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The Indiana Pacers needed a huge team effort on Saturday night to beat the Boston Celtics.

They were already in a tough spot, and not having Tyrese Haliburton was only going to make it tougher on them.

The star point guard was out with a hamstring injury, and his availability was in question leading to the game.

He was ruled out hours before tip-off, and while it was far from surprising, it also shed light on the fact that he might not be ready for Game 4 either.

With that in mind, coach Rick Carlisle revealed that Haliburton actually tried to push through it and desperately wanted to play.

However, the team ‘took the decision out of his hands’ (Via Celtics on NBC Sports Boston).

“The decision on tonight was taken out of his hands earlier in the day.”

Rick Carlisle gives an update on Tyrese Haliburton pic.twitter.com/YTN1KtQn4e

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 25, 2024

That makes sense.

Sometimes, teams need to protect the players from themselves, especially young players.

Haliburton struggled with that same hamstring midway through the season, and those kinds of injuries are tricky and can get aggravated if the players don’t give them enough time to rest and rush their way back to the court.

The former Sacramento Kings star is also going to play for Team USA in the Olympics, so he cannot keep pushing his body right now and risk further injury.

The Pacers have overachieved this season, but they clearly have the foundational pieces to put together something special for years to come.

They must take a long-term approach with their franchise star, even if that means having him sit for the final two games of a series that they didn’t stand much of a chance to win anyway.

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