11:44am: Haliburton confirmed after Wednesday’s light practice that he has a calf strain but he’s hopeful he can play in Game 6, Spears tweets.
“I’m a competitor. I want to play. I’m going to do everything in my power to play,” Haliburton said.
11:01 am: With his team’s season on the brink, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle anticipates that Tyrese Haliburton will be a “game-time decision” for Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star relays.
Carlisle commented on Haliburton’s status during a Wednesday morning radio interview on 107.5 The Fan.
“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.”
Haliburton did not make a field goal in Indiana’s Game 5 loss to Oklahoma City as the Thunder grabbed a 3-2 lead in the series. Game 6 will be played in Indianapolis. The star guard reportedly underwent an MRI on Tuesday due to an injury believed to be a right calf strain.
“We have to prepare for two scenarios: one where he plays and one where he does not,” Carlisle said.
Carlisle said rotation changes could be coming, regardless of Haliburton’s status. Indiana has lost the last two games of the series.
“Everything is on the table,” Carlisle said. “… It’s pretty simple. Tomorrow night our task is to take care of home court – 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.”
Center Myles Turner remains defiant that the Pacers can win the next two games, as he told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. Turner declared, “It’s not over” shortly after the Game 5 loss.
“Our fans have been anticipating this for such a long time,” Turner said. “They’ve been antsy. The biggest thing is to show up for Game 6. They’ll be behind us and be as loud as they were here [in Oklahoma City]. For someone in my position, you never know when you can get this opportunity again. This is the youngest, healthiest and most spry I will ever be. For me, I just got to give it all that I’ve got. Back against the wall. Empty the tank.”
Isiah Thomas HOFer limped to help his team, as did Willis Reed. Giannis had a season ending injury in the ECF the year he won, rested up and beasted out in the finals.
@Farcry
How did “Thunder in 6” work out?
Best of luck, Pacers!
As great as Haliburton is, Shai is simply on a different level. As much hate as he gets for getting fouled so much (how weird is that lol), it’s obv that y’all are gonna try to find something more substantial to discredit him in the coming months & years. Good luck lol. Til then let’s give him his props as the best basketball player on the planet. Might be a hot sec before someone catches him.
sga draws fouls. thats his entire game
Lol him, Wilt & Shaq right? Yea you’re gonna have to come up with something else.
You’re delusional. You can’t compare Wilt and Shaq getting fouled due to their sheer size and dominance with the histrionics that SGA engages in to draw cheap fouls. No different than what BS Harden use to pull.
I definitely can compare them. Same sport, same league, same method of scoring the ball. Exactly like Wilt & Shaq, guys can’t guard Shai legally. They can either foul him or hope he misses. Shai is obv a guard while those guys are bigs but overall the point is exactly the same. Clearly you’re new to the sport but I coach my kids to know that getting to the line consistently is essential for anybody that wants to call themselves a scorer. It’s the most efficient way to score other than an open layup. Perhaps you should consider other reasons that you dislike Shai & Harden so much. Be honest with yourself and eventually you’ll figure out the real reasons you hate on them so hard.
Riiiiiiight. If you think the center and guards positions are played and officiated the same way, then I got some oceanfront property with a great view in Arizona to sell you.
I feel sorry for any kids being coached by you. Just another example of what’s wrong with the game today. People who clearly don’t understand the fundamentals of the game passing on their lack of knowledge to kids.
I don’t hate the player, but I do hate the monstrosity that Adam Silver has allowed the game to become all for ratings and tv dollars at the expense of the game itself.
Real clear you don’t understand the game. Silver has nothing to do with it. Teams are running different offenses today. Are incorporating more shooting. What SGA is doing has been going on since the first great offensive players. MJ, Isiah, Bird, Magic, Pearl, Hayes, Gervin, DrJ, Sam Jones, Barry. All the greats broke down defenses ….. just like SGA. You sir are a hater.
@Sankara
Shaq and Wilt didn’t dive to the floor trying to get calls like SGA does frequently.
He’s surpassed Embiid as the premier flopper in the NBA.
Shaq and Wilt are only bad examples because their size, They used brute force to get where they wanted and didn’t get every foul that should’ve been called. However I don’t think Harden is a great comparison to SGA either. Harden didn’t care about getting a bucket, he just wanted a foul. SGA plays to contact while trying to get a bucket. He just makes sure the refs see the contact. Jordan, Wade and Kobe did almost the same thing as Shai except they were more successful at drawing the foul. Shai ranks 20th on fewest FTA per game to average over 30PPG, right in the middle of the pack.
Guys don’t have to be exactly the same to be comparable. Shaq & Wilt played in the NBA, to me that’s enough. For any basketball player, regardless of size, astrological sign or religion should try to score in any way possible, including getting to the line. This seems very obv bc it is. It’s truly ridiculous that in 2025 y’all still hating on James Harden lol. Fr take a few steps back & just consider the possibility that Harden is as great as his peers & his accomplishments/stats & tape say he is & maybe you’re just misunderstanding what great guard play looks like. It’s great that you’re not hating on Shai but somehow Harden is a blind spot for you smh I swear I don’t understand y’all.
SDA hooks and pushes off to get his fouls and separation. That is the problem and the reason he’s a mini-Harden.
When he plays straight up and called correctly he shoots 35% with maybe 6 free throws a game, not 14.
Jalen Williams was conf finals MVP and he should be the Finals MVP too. But the Oscar goes to Shai.
Difference between SGA and Harden, SGA is more efficient as a jump shooter. Harden isn’t even close to the jump shooter that SGA has become. 50% for SGA and 43% for Harden. SGA takes 17 FGA per game for his career, Harden takes 16, so not much of a difference, he’s just more efficient when he has the ball. Does he foul bait? Yeah, but so did other guys before him. Reggie Miller literally was the master behind getting calls and foul baiting. SGA is a 2 way player, and also plays defense, which has always been Harden’s Achilles heel.
Sheesh lol I swear it’s like y’all literally can’t help yourselves. Whenever you’re compelled to give props to a guy like Shai yall instinctually feel it necessary to tear down a guy like Harden in the process to level it out or something smh. How did we skip past Luka when talking about guys that Shai is better than lol. We went from Haliburton straight to Harden. If defense is what separates Shai from Harden (it obv isn’t the shot-making smh man y’all have short memories) then the gulf bw Shai & Luka must be gigantic bc he’s an even worse defender than Harden. And he “foul baits” just as much if not more than anyone in NBA history while also whining to the refs more than Shai or Harden. Overall point, y’all are VERY transparent with your world views whether you recognize it or not. Obv not just you raz427.
Okay genius. Please let us all know what our VERY transparent world views are and exactly in what universe said world views have anything to do with basketball.
We’re all waiting on the edge of our seats with bated breath.
???? I’m a huge fan of SGA lol. The guy above me compared him to Harden, I did some investigating. Everyone knows Luka doesn’t play defense. SGA is a joy to watch play on both sides of the ball, his mid range is so deadly that it’s ridiculous.
I def carried my frustration from the previous guy over to you. My bad. Shai is a beast no doubt. So is Luka for that matter. But prime Harden was as great as anybody we’ve ever seen & deserves far, far more respect than he’s received during his career.
@raz
I think watching a bunch of free throws is boring, not joyful.
I respect your opinion, won’t dog it. I think hoops is just hoops, his mid range game is so dangerous too, stops on a dime and pulls up from anywhere on the elbow. I try to see the good in every player rather than what the media and new generation of fans do, which is always criticize one aspect of a player no matter the sport.
You give people too much credit. Not everyone understands what SGA is doing. He has owned the year and now the playoffs. Best 2Way player in this series by FAR …… he is as dominant as any player I have ever seen in the playoffs. At 27 he still has a long way to go
Hardens best yrs were historic. But even tgen he really didn’t play D. SGA is just stepped on the big stage. The man plays both ways. Very few greats can do that. At 27 yrs old. We still have give him 8-10 yrs. What he is doing this year. Is an all time great performance
Bron flipped for years as strong as he is and you all worship him.
Jokic still best but SGA has def taken #2 from Giannis
Reigning NBA champ, MVP & FMVP tell a different story.
@ Sankara
Lol, unlike SGA, Jokic has achieved that (albeit not in the same season).
If the Thunder win the title you can talk.
Haliburton will play. If i am pacers have hinm suit up and if its a close game after half time let him play. Its play or go home time.
He’s playing on 1 leg
Went out there gm 5, can barely move
If he was 100, indy champs. Sad
You will see in finals that injuries have given many teams a championship.
Give it a rest, even with a healthy Halliburton they were unlikely to win this series.
I’m not trying to take anything away from Indy’s amazing run thus far, you play the teams in front of you and handle your business regardless of who’s playing but Mitchell, Garland and Mobley were playing on one leg during the semis against Indy. If they were 100% during that series the Pacers would be on vacation.
@chuck
Donovan had a minor ankle injury when cavs were alredy down 3-1
They never stood a chance
Finals is different. Indy went up 1-0, hali got hurt gm 2, they still went up 2-1. Dude is playing at 50% mayb less. They had a lead in 4th Q of gm 4, and got within 2 in gm 5. If hali could make even a single FG that puts them ahead. Hali can barely walk, you gonna compare that to mitchell who punked out when his tm down 40points? You sound like those knicks fans who said pacers cant beat them when they’re fully healthy. Well knicks 100% healthy this yr & indy took em out not in 7 but in 6 this time
Mitchell reaggravated an injury he got from stepping on Keon Ellis’ foot. He missed the last four games of the regular season because of the injury. Garland injured his foot in game 2 of the Heat series and missed 4 playoff games, even after returning he was still limping. Mobley injured his ankle badly enough to miss a game. If you get injured badly enough to miss a playoff game you aren’t going to healed after missing one game. That only covers starters. Hunter and Merrill were injured as well.
So dramatic
He will never live it down if he doesn’t play.
He could either be the next Jordan or the next LeBron.
The choice is yours kid!
I’m not sure what you’re trying to get at here?
As much I respect Haliburton and his game he’ll never be in the same tier as Jordan or LeBron. He’s not even in top 200 players of all time.
If you’re trying to say something about LeBron missing games? LeBron has played in 292 playoff games. The all time record for any player in NBA history and has never missed a single playoff game due to injury.
I don’t know. There’s a flu game and then there’s a cramp game.
You tell me who won.
Dort on injured Hali = -15 while on court. Sit him for McConnell.
Another choke ……
link to x.com