Tyrese Haliburton’s status is arguably the biggest storyline heading into tomorrow night’s Game 6; as the Pacers floor general nurses a calf injury with his team on the brink of elimination.
The two-time All-Star sustained the injury in the series’ previous game. And despite returning to the floor, he nearly had more turnovers than points and didn’t score a single field goal in 34 minutes of play.
With all that said, Hali has made it clear that he wants to be out there with his teammates as they look to extend these Finals to a Game 7.
“I want to play. I’m going to do everything in my power to play,” Haliburton said, via Underdog NBA.
Tyrese Haliburton on status for Game 6:
“I want to play. I’m going to do everything in my power to play.”
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) June 18, 2025
That’s been the motive all along for the 25-year-old superstar who has come up clutch for Indiana time and time again this postseason.
“I mean, it’s the NBA Finals. It’s the finals, man,” Haliburton said after Game 5. “I’ve worked my whole life to be here and I want to be out there to compete. Help my teammates any way I can. I was not great tonight by any means, but it’s not really a thought of mine to not play here. If I can walk, then I want to play. They understand that. And it is what it is. Got to be ready to go for Game 6.”
The Pacers are reportedly preparing today as if they won’t have their starting point guard on Thursday night. With coach Rick Carlisle saying in a radio interview: “We have to prepare for two scenarios — one where he plays and one where he does not.”
Indiana got some great minutes out of backup T.J. McConnell in the team’s losing effort at the start of the week — and he was single-handedly the reason they were even able to cut the lead to two in the fourth.
They’ll definitely need more of the same if they want to take one more flight to the Paycom Center on June 22. We’ll see if Haliburton is able to suit up come 8:30 PM ET on ABC.
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