Tyrese Haliburton's calf is ruining a perfect NBA Finals

The 2025 NBA Finals have had just about everything a basketball fan could want: explosive performances from the biggest stars on the court, game-winning shots in the clutch, big moments from the league's Most Valuable Player.

Now, it also has the one thing absolutely no one wanted to see: A crucial injury that might just change the series.

Tyrese Haliburton didn't have a single field goal in Game 5 against the Thunder on Monday night. You just look at the box score and it seems like the player who has been the most clutch performer in NBA postseason history just disappeared in the moment. But there's more context to it than that.

Haliburton aggravated an apparent right calf injury on the same leg on which he had ankle soreness last week, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

He'd injured it again when falling as he tried to drive his way into the paint early in the game. From that point forward, he just didn't look the same as he had all series. He didn't have the same explosiveness. He couldn't generate the paint touches to keep Indy's offense churning. He just ... looked like a guy out there. Considering how good he's been for the last month, it sucked to watch.

This could legitimately change the series. Hali was seen walking with a limp after his postgame press conference.

Calf injuries are no joke. You can work on them, but they don't just go away after a few days' rest. That's all the Pacers and Haliburton have to work with, with Game 6 set for Thursday. This injury will be a factor.

Don't get it twisted — Haliburton says he's playing. This isn't enough to keep him out of the biggest game of his career so far. But, honestly, seeing how it hampered him in Game 4, you can't feel great about that if you're a Pacers fan.

The series isn't over, by any means. Even with Haliburton's injury, the Pacers cut the lead down to two points in the middle of the fourth quarter. Pascal Siakam was awesome. TJ McConnell did some magical work in Haliburton's stead, too. Not saying you can rely on him to do that every night, but the Pacers only need to win one game to make it a Game 7.

In the meantime, Indy needs to do whatever it takes to make that calf OK. Massages, stretches, devil magic. Whatever it takes. Just get it right so we get a good Game 6.

My villain origin story

Shoutout to Jalen Williams, who scored 40 points in the biggest game of his career last night. He's just the fifth player in NBA history to score 40 points in an NBA Finals game before turning 25 years old. He's legitimately gotten better with each game in these Finals so far. You can make an argument that, at times, he's been the best player on the court while sharing the floor with the NBA's MVP.

He was really getting buckets on Monday night.

Now, imagine watching that, then having to go to sleep, realizing you have to live with the fact that your favorite basketball team drafted Johnny Davis over this guy.

This is why I am the way I am.

Shohei Ohtani is not real

Shohei Ohtani is the embodiment of video game numbers. He made his pitching debut with the Dodgers on Monday night, taking the mound for the first time since August of 2023.

You'd think, considering that he hadn't pitched in a game for so long, that Ohtani would take it easy. Nope. Complete opposite.

The dude came out here throwing complete gas. Here's a summary of his outing from Charles Curtis:

"This year? He's hit 25 dingers, but he's now adding pitching back slowly. He threw one inning, giving up a run and two hits with no strikeouts. But this is just the beginning for the uber-athlete.

And here's the wild thing: dude threw triple digits in that first start. Imagine what he'll do when he's fully stretched out."

Thirteen of his pitches clocked over 98 miles per hour. Here's the 100 mph joint:

This guy is a monster.

Quick hits: The NFL's most important newcomers ... Sabalenka says sorry ... and more

— Here's Christian D'Andrea with the 32 most important newcomers on each NFL team. Brilliant.

— Aryna Sabalenka apologized to Coco Gauff for her crass words after the French Open. Meg Hall has more.

— Angel Reese trademarking "Mebounds" is hilarious.

— ESPN brought back player pre-game intros! Bullying works! Andrew Joseph has details.

— Myles Garrett doesn't care if Micah Parsons makes more money than he does — he believes the Cowboys' star deserves it. Robert Zeglinski has more.

— Joey Chestnut is back at Nathan's to gobble some glizzies this summer! Here's Charles Curtis with more on why he was banned in the first place.

That's a wrap, gang. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

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