In the most important game of his life, Tyrese Haliburton had scored 9 of his teams 16 points against the OKC Thunder during Game 7. Haliburton was the engine to the fast paced offense the Pacers liked to play with and like he had done multiple times during the 25′ playoffs he was putting this team on his back. Then like a flick of a switch it was all over, Haliburton was down, in tears, grabbing the back of his right leg and in one of the most emotional moments in NBA history. He tore his achilles.

With the Pacers officially out of the race for any postseason opportunities, lets look forward to next years team. It all starts with Tyrese Haliburton but after what would be over a year since he last played, what does a post achillies injury Haliburton look like?

He should return for the start of next season. Which means he would’ve had about 15 months to rehab his injury. As we know with these injuries sometimes the longer the better, Kevin Durant rehabbed his achilles for 18 months and came back a similar player. A couple of factors that works well in Tyrese Haliburton’s case is, one that his playstyle doesn’t revolve around his athleticism. Two, the base of his jumpshot doesn’t require a lot lift in order to get a shot off, therefore we should’ve worry about much regression from the career 40% 3-point shooter. Lastly, given the amount of time between the injury to when he eventually plays, Haliburton should be able to overcome the mental barrier which we hear so many players talk about especially from achilles.

We can expect Haliburton to return to his pre injury form but we shouldn’t expect it to return so quickly. No amount of practice can equate to the level of intensity of a real NBA game so only time will tell. Through 73 games last season, Tyrese Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 9.2 assists on 47/39/85 shooting splits (%). Patience is needed when players are returning from such severe injuries but with time and games under his belt next season, fans should expect the stellar playmaker to return to the form that took the playoffs by storm.

— @NBAGeneralist_ on X

Tyrese Haliburton’s Career Stats