Tyrese Haliburton will not play in Game 3 of the Indiana Pacers versus Boston Celtics Eastern Conference finals. On Thursday, while playing Joe Mazzulla’s team, he aggravated his hamstring once more. He left the court and did not come back. Going into Saturday’s game, the Celtics lead the series 2-0. The Celtics will be one win away from making their second trip to the NBA Finals in three years if they prevail in Game 3. But if Haliburton is out for the remainder of the series, Boston’s postseason run will have a big asterisk next to it.The storyline in the media will be that it faced other teams without their best players. In the first round, the Miami Heat without Jimmy Butler was upset by the Boston Celtics. Donovan Mitchell missed the final two games, while Jarrett Allen was missed by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Its path would be facilitated if Haliburton became the most recent celebrity to sustain an injury during a series against Boston.
But the Celtics won’t care. They will point to the reality that teams typically play harder when without their great player—after all, you can only beat what’s in front of you. They also deserve recognition for not letting their guard down and playing like professionals against teams with a lot of injuries.
Haliburton is not likely to be at his peak even if he does make a comeback for Game 4. Healing from hamstring strains typically takes weeks. Indiana was already having trouble defeating the renowned Celtics team; their prospects of winning further decreased with the absence of Haliburton.
It’s suddenly a lose-lose situation for the Celtics. They will have an easier path if they defeat the Pacers. But if they lose a few games, people will start to doubt their championship pedigree. Mazzulla’s squad won’t care whether it moves closer to its ultimate objective of capturing the team’s first title since 2008.
