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Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton’s exit highlights Jayson Tatum similarity beyond injury
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- Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton’s exit highlights Jayson Tatum similarity beyond injury
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Will the NBA be making changes to their scheduling in the aftermath of three Achilles injuries in this year's playoffs alone? Damian Lillard went down in Round 1, Jayson Tatum followed suit in Round 2, and then Tyrese Haliburton, who's been so magically clutch for the Indiana Pacers in this year's playoffs, seems to have suffered the same fate as his other two peers in their 103-91 Game 7 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals.
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The long grind coupled with the short periods of rest come playoff time seems to have caught up to some of the biggest stars in the NBA. But beyond the similarities among those three on the injury front, it sure does raise an eyebrow or two that all of the All-Stars who suffered an Achilles injury in the playoffs was wearing the jersey number zero, as pointed out by StatMuse on X (formerly Twitter).
Of course, there is no greater meaning behind this. It is simply a coincidence, although it does seem odd that all of them wear the same jersey number and they all suffered the same fate.
But going back to the NBA's scheduling problem, is an 82-game regular-season grind simply too much to handle in today's style of play? There is so much effort being expended on every possession; teams are looking to cover as much ground as possible defensively due to how skilled players are these days from all areas of the court.
And the Pacers are one such team; not only do they play a defensive style that relies so much on putting pressure on the other team, they also play at a breakneck pace on offense. One's legs can only handle so much strain, even if one is a professional athlete who receives the best training possible.
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Pacers' Game 7 injury woes highlight importance of load management
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The Thunder were so dominant in the regular season that they could afford to rest the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams , limiting their minutes often considering how many blowout wins they had on the year. Meanwhile, the Pacers had to overcome a slow start to the season; Haliburton, in particular, had to snap himself out of an early-season funk to finish the year with a flourish.
Calf injuries are no joke, and Haliburton's injury was eerily reminiscent of the one Kevin Durant suffered as well back in 2019. For the Pacers , the hope now for next season is that they at least remain semi-competitive in preparation for Haliburton's eventual return from injury.
Related: Obi Toppin assigns blame for Pacers' crushing Game 7 loss to Thunder
Related: Bill Simmons disses Thunder with reaction to Tyrese Haliburton injury
