Tyrese Haliburton’s return to preseason action came with plenty to like and one unwelcome wrinkle.
After 472 days away from an NBA court, the Pacers point guard played one half Wednesday night and put together a tidy line: 7 points on 3-of-8 shooting, 6 assists, 1 turnover, 2 blocks and a steal. For a player working his way back after missing nearly 16 months and logging just 16 total minutes, it was a promising first step.
The downside showed up in the same game. Haliburton came out with a mild right ankle tweak and will sit out Saturday night’s preseason matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, according to Rick Carlisle.
“He was limited yesterday in practice,” Carlisle told the media before the game against the Hawks. “He's doing better each day. They did an MRI of this, and everything looks really good.”
Carlisle also addressed any concern about Haliburton’s Achilles and said there is no issue there.
"The Achilles looks great," Carlisle reassured. "All the doctors looked at it and it's just gonna be a matter of him working through it."
The Pacers are hoping Haliburton can get back to full work soon, with Monday practice and Tuesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder as the next checkpoints. Carlisle wasn’t locking that in, though.
"We're hopeful that he practices Monday and plays Tuesday," Carlisle said. "If he's not ready to play Tuesday, then we'll get him ready for Friday."
Haliburton was still around the team Saturday and spent a short stretch on the court during pregame warmups, even though he won’t suit up against Atlanta.
Indiana’s preseason schedule rolls on after Saturday, with two more games left: Tuesday night at the Paycom Center against the Thunder and Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse against the Milwaukee Bucks.
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The preseason matchup with Atlanta offers Indiana a first look at the style that carried it, and the kind of opponent likely to challenge it early. Both teams want to play fast and create offense in transition, but the Pacers are also sorting through roster changes that could reshape how they get there, including the addition of center Ivica Zubac.
Tyrese Haliburton and Trae Young remain the obvious headliners, a pair of playmakers who can turn a loose possession into a track meet in a hurry. The Hawks also have reworked their perimeter mix, giving this game some extra defensive intrigue around how Indiana handles pressure on the outside and whether its usual pace can hold up against a group built to make life harder on the ball. [Read more 🡒]
Haliburton And Zubac Could Decide Indianas New Offensive Ceiling
Tyrese Haliburton is back in Indiana after spending the better part of two years rehabbing an Achilles tear, and his return changes the Pacers offensive conversation immediately. In the meantime, the roster around him has shifted too, with Myles Turner gone and Ivica Zubac now in the fold, giving Indiana a very different kind of frontcourt partner to pair with its point guard.
What makes that fit so interesting is that it is not just about talent, but about whether the two can meet in the middle stylistically. Haliburton has long been at his best when the ball is moving and the floor is open, while Zubac brings a more traditional interior presence, and Indianas next offensive jump may depend on how smoothly those instincts mesh once the games start to matter again. [Read more 🡒]