Rick Carlisle says Tyrese Haliburton likely 'game-time decision' for Game 6 of NBA Finals
INDIANAPOLIS – Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton "probably will be a game-time decision for Game 6" of the NBA Finals, coach Rick Carlisle said in a radio interview on 107.5 The Fan on Wednesday morning after Haliburton reportedly had an MRI for a calf strain on Tuesday.
Haliburton was listed as questionable on NBA's official injury report late Wednesday afternoon.
Haliburton has been dealing with a lower leg issue since Game 2 but appeared to either aggravate the injury or suffer a new one in the Pacers' Game 5 loss Monday night when he tripped attempting to drive to the lane in the first half. He was dealing with "lower leg tightness" according to Pacers public relations staff and wore a wrap around his right leg on the sidelines. There was discussion at halftime about him sitting out the rest of the game, but Carlisle said Haliburton was adamant about staying in the game. Still, he scored just four points in the Pacers' 120-109 loss, missing all six of his field goal attempts. He did record six assists and seven rebounds.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported Tuesday Haliburton was scheduled to have an MRI and that he had suffered a right calf strain. Carlisle didn't exactly confirm that Wednesday morning, but indicated Haliburton's status is in limbo with the Pacers down 3-2 in the series and facing elimination with Game 6 coming Thursday.
"He is going to be carefully evaluated over the next 36 hours and will likely be listed as questionable on the injury report and probably will be a game-time decision for Game 6," Carlisle said. "Everything is on the table."
Carlisle said the Pacers do have to be prepared for the possibility Haliburton will not play. The Pacers went 4-5 this season in games in which Haliburton did not appear. In such a case, Andrew Nembhard would likely move from shooting guard to point guard leaving a wing position open. In most cases this season when Haliburton did not play, Bennedict Mathurin moved into the starting lineup at shooting guard.
Carlisle wouldn't say whether or not Haliburton would be at practice Wednesday with the last 30 minutes being open to the media.
"It's pretty simple, we have to prepare for both," Carlisle said. "Today, when we meet with the team before, we go on the floor and practice is going to be more of a walkthrough at this point of the series. We'll do a walkthrough, we'll have some shooting. We'll have some open practice the last 30 minutes with the media at the end, yeah, we have to prepare for two scenarios: one where he plays and one where he does not."
Asked about how to handle rotations and minute counts, Carlisle stayed to the same line.
"Everything is on the table," Carlisle said. "... It's pretty simple. Tomorrow night our task is to take care of homecourt, which is what they did in Game 5 and get to an ultimate game, which is Game 7. That's the task in front of us. We have to figure out exactly what tools are in front of us as a team and we have to consider everything. Minute count, throwing that out the window is easy to say, but if you have guys out there that are more fatigued than they should be, that's not good and against this team, that's very difficult."
Haliburton averaged 18.6 points and 9.2 assists per game in the regular season to earn third-team All-NBA honors for the second straight season and is averaging 17.9 points and 9.1 assists per game in the playoffs. He's hit game-winning or game-tying shots in four remarkable playoff comebacks for the Pacers in these playoffs to help them reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000 and the second time in franchise history.
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