Impermanence, for better or worse, is a defining aspect of life. Things begin and end. Peaks descend into valleys and rise again into new peaks. The Pacers went on a magical run in the IST only to lose 7 of their next 9 games. They followed up that losing streak by winning 9 of 10.

Currently the Pacers have lost four of their last five with nothing but playoff teams on the horizon. To make matters worse, Tyrese Haliburton has been ruled out of the next three games as he manages his injured hamstring. I couldn't blame you for feeling that the team's outlook is rather bleak.

Nevertheless, remember that the season, much like basketball itself, is a game of runs. Things may very well get worse over the next week or so but, barring a catastrophic injury, they will turn around. This team is not only incredibly talented, it's deep. In other words, regardless of what happens tonight, keep the faith.

Tonight

In a few hours, the Pacers take on the defending champion Nuggets for the second time in a fortnight. The game went about as well as one could hope when facing off against the best player in the league without Tyrese Haliburton.

As I wrote in the recap:

The Pacers fought hard, competed, but simply couldn't overcome the talent discrepancy. Nikola Jokic's mastery of the sport was on full display as he posted a casual 25/12/9 with only one miss from the field. Over the past nine games, the two-time MVP is shooting a bonkers 81% from the floor. Denver also received 25 point games from Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., with the latter contributing seven threes. That kind of offensive efficiency is a buzzsaw and the Pacers were unfortunate to run into it.

Indiana was able to win the turnover and offensive rebounding battle, which resulted in 20 second chance points and helped keep the game close. However, despite forcing Denver into 21 turnovers, the Pacers were only able to come away with seven fast break points. For a team that averages over 17 a game, that inefficiency on the break was devastating.

The good news: Jokic has cooled down a bit. His fg% is down from 81% to a paltry 70%. Of course in his last game he dropped 42, so let's not get too cocky.

If the Pacers want to win tonight they'll need to win the 50/50 balls like they did last game but they'll have to turn those into points. There's no competing with Denver in half court without Tyrese Haliburton. Hopefully tonight the team lives up to its name and sets the pace.

Tyrese Update

As I mentioned above, Tyrese has been ruled out for the next three games while he treats his strained hamstring. According to Rick Carlisle, the team isn't calling it a setback, but continued injury management. If that sounds like semantics to you, we're in agreement.

Whether or not Tyrese was ready to play in the Portland game is a decision way above my pay grade. However, I do think it's fair to question whether he should have played 35 mins, even if the game went down to the wire. Sometimes you have to protect the players from themselves.

Speaking of which, protecting Tyrese from himself may become a very important story line. In order for Tyrese to receive the supermax extension he signed this summer, he needs to make an All-NBA Team (technically he could win MVP or DPOY but those seem out of reach). To be eligible for awards, he must appear in at least 65 games this season. If he isn't eligible and doesn't make All-NBA, his salary will be set at 25% of next year's Salary Cap instead of 30%. In other words, it will cost him about $53 million dollars over the life of the contract.

I'll defer to Scott Agness on the slim margins Tyrese is facing the rest of the year:

Haliburton has already missed nine (of 43) games this season. Three more pushes it to 12. Therefore, if he returns on Sunday against Memphis, Haliburton must not miss more than five of the final 36 games in order to qualify.

But wait, he only played 14 minutes on Jan. 8 before exiting with the injury. So that game does not officially count.

Therefore his magic number appears to be FOUR.

From the Collective Bargaining Agreement:

"A player will be considered to have played in a Regular Season game for purposes of these rules if he played at least 20 minutes of the game (except that for up to two Regular Season games per season, the game will count if the player plays between 15 and 20 minutes)."

However, this is the first year of the new rule so there is a gray area.

"Exceptions. The CBA will provide for limited exceptions under which a player who fails to satisfy the games-played criteria may nonetheless be deemed eligible for the applicable awards – for example, if the player can establish that he would have met the 65-game threshold but for extraordinary circumstances that would render his exclusion from award eligibility unjust."

An exception could include how Haliburton played in the In-Season Tournament championship game, but he does not get credit for that game.

And, perhaps the league would be willing to count his 14-minute appearance against the Celtics since he left the game for good due to injury.

That’s potentially a two-game buffer.
Tyrese Haliburton ruled out for the next three games — and how his upcoming max contract hinges on games played
Haliburton has been sidelined for nine games this season and will miss another three this week. What Rick Carlisle said about the injury and why games played impacts his All-NBA eligibility.
Fieldhouse Files with Scott AgnessScott Agness

So Tyrese can likely miss somewhere between 4-6 more games after the three Carlisle stated he'll miss. It will be a delicate balance doing what's best for Tyrese's long term health and what's best for his bank account. I wonder if we might see a few games where he plays 20 mins and then gets yanked.

Tyrese Update Part 2

On a brighter note, there was some other Haliburton news today. Unsurprisingly, Team USA wants him back for the Olympics this summer. He's been named to the 41-player pool that will compete for 12 spots on the team. Health permitting, he should be a lock for the final roster.

Injuries

The non-Haliburton injury report is looking mighty fine.

How to Watch

Tipoff is at 7:00 PM ET.

TV: Bally Sports Indiana, NBA League Pass

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

See ya in the comments!

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