Tyrese Haliburton Ditching the Bubble Wrap for Monday's Back-to-Back
Tyrese Haliburton said he'll play in second end of back-to-back on Monday. (via @UnderdogNBA)
Tyrese Haliburton is officially playing the second night of a back-to-back on Monday, which means the Indiana Pacers are finally letting us have nice things again.
Underdog NBA reported that the franchise point guard confirmed he is suiting up against the . For anyone holding their breath every time he jumps, this is the ultimate green light.
Haliburton just spent 16 months rehabbing a torn Achilles he suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. For context, the Pacers went a catastrophic 19-63 without him last season. Taking him out of this offense is like taking the engine out of a sports car and replacing it with a hamster wheel.
He already proved the Achilles holds up by dropping 23 points and 12 assists in a season-opening win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He even survived a mid-air collision with Zion Williamson, which is basically the NBA's version of a five-star crash test rating.
If you are looking at player props or setting a fantasy lineup, Haliburton playing both ends of a back-to-back this early in the season completely flips his market value. You usually expect a guy coming off a major lower-body injury to get the mandatory bubble-wrap treatment until at least the All-Star break.
Instead, he is diving headfirst into the deep end against . If he looks as explosive on zero days of rest as he did in the opener, the rest of the Eastern Conference has a massive problem on its hands.