The loss in Game 2 of the NBA Finals wasn’t the most worrying part of that game. The loss hurt, yes. But was Tyrese Haliburton limping after the game? Now, that sent the Pacers faithful into crisis mode before his appearance in Game 3 set things right. But after he tripped in Game 5, those concerns about his leg are back to gnaw at the Indy fanbase. And if you’re a Pacers fan, you’ll want to hear what a source close to the Pacers told Lisa Salters.

With the series tied 2-2, Game 5 is pivotal in determining who will come out on top. So the last thing the Pacers need is their talisman out injured. But despite Haliburton’s return to Game 5, all may not be right with the Indiana superstar. Even so, assistant coach Lloyd Pierce isn’t worried.

“Pacers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce, he said that Tyrese is just trying to figure it out right now, if he can, in fact, play through this. Pierce said he’s trying to fight through it to see how effective he can be, but if he cannot go, Pierce said we’ve got plenty of guys, we’ve got TJ, we’ve got Andrew Hemhart, we’re hoping that Tyrese can make it, but we’ve got more than enough guys, Pierce said,” revealed Lisa Salters.

Now, heading into Game 3, ESPN insider Shams Charania told us that the Pacers believed Hali’s injury to be a “non-issue”. Even the Indy point guard himself said he was “fine,” deeming it to just be a “lower leg thing” not worth elaborating. However, that was before he appeared to make the injury worse tonight after tripping during the early minutes of Game 5.

And if we believe renowned medical expert, Dr. Brian Sutterer, then this injury could be much worse than we’re hoping. Here’s what he thought of Hali’s injury after Game 2.

Haliburton’s ‘lower leg thing’ could be hiding a bigger issue

See, Dr. Sutterer believes that this injury could be much worse than Hali is leading on. And on X, he explained how this injury could potentially be an Achilles issue for the Indiana Pacers point guard. And it all has to do with how Tyrese Haliburton had tape running down the back of his ankle. “Not your typical tape position for an ankle injury. Looks like it could be an Achilles issue,” he wrote. 

And this is definitely a worrying sign for Indy. After all, we’ve seen many NBA players go down this season with an Achilles injury. Worst of all, perhaps, was Hali’s Team USA teammate, Jayson Tatum. He is suspected to miss a major chunk of the upcoming 2025/26 NBA season, if not miss it entirely.

So, it’s not a good sign that this injury doesn’t seem to stop pestering Hali. But his performance in Game 5 of the NBA Finals doesn’t seem affected by this injury. So if nothing else, that’s a positive sign for the Pacers. Even so, let’s hope Hali’s injury is as trifling of matter as he describes. Both for his sake and the Pacers’.