INDIANAPOLIS — It’s the existential question: Play and take the risk, or play the long game even in the face of Finals elimination?
That’s what is facing Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton on the eve of Game 6 of the NBA Finals with his right calf strain, which he confirmed in his media session Wednesday. He wasn’t much help in the second half of Game 5, unable to contribute a field goal after injuring his calf on a turnover.
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He went through the Pacers walkthrough, but coach Rick Carlisle said there wasn’t any real running involved. Sounds like he’ll be listed as a game-time decision.
“It’s a topic that people want to hear about and know about. There’s going to be a lot of questions about it,” Carlisle said. “We will not really know for sure until late tomorrow afternoon or early evening.”
Haliburton said “the plan” is for him to play, even though if this were a regular-season game he would be sitting.
“I want to be out there,” Haliburton said.
Kevin Durant’s Achilles popped in the 2019 Finals, two quarters into playing for the first time in a month for Golden State following a calf strain.
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There is risk of a player missing a significant chunk of his prime, but the mindset of an athlete is to push even harder at this level. So sometimes, being smart goes out the window.
“I think it depends on who you ask,” Haliburton said. “You’re asking me. I think I have to be as smart as I want to be. Have to understand the risks, ask the right questions.
Tyrese Haliburton will likely be a game-time decision for Game 6. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
(NBAE via Getty Images)
“I’m a competitor. I want to play. I’m going to do everything in my power to play. That’s just what it is.”
Haliburton missed time during the Pacers’ playoff run last year, the final two games of their conference finals loss to the Boston Celtics, and was limited in last summer’s Olympic Games with an injured hamstring. That seemed to hinder his start to the season in the first 25 games before he rebounded and the Pacers made their run to the Finals.
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If he plays and…
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