Indiana Pacers could get Tyrese Haliburton and Daniel Theis back this week

Haliburton hasn't played in three weeks while Theis has been out all season

The Indiana Pacers are currently in their worst stretch of the season. They have lost 10 of their last 11 games and have tumbled to 24-28 — 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Injuries, slow starts, and poor defense have crushed the Pacers in January.

Thankfully, though, reinforcements may be on the way soon. On Tuesday, the Pacers were able to get in a full, more intense than usual practice since the team has three days off between games. In that practice, Tyrese Haliburton and Daniel Theis were full participants, head coach Rick Carlisle said. Neither of them have played during the blue and gold's ongoing losing streak.

"We're able to get Tyrese back out here and Theis," Carlisle said Tuesday. "Theis has been through some practice stuff, I don't know that's he's been through an absolute full five-on-five with the team [before]."

Theis required more detail than Haliburton because he hasn't played in a game all season. The German center has been sidelined with knee soreness, which was addressed via surgery in November, all season. Tuesday was his most involved practice since training camp.

As for Haliburton, he injured his left knee and elbow against the New York Knicks on January 11 and hasn't played since. He is the Pacers best player, so his absence has been tough to overcome. They are 1-9 in the 10 games since Haliburton's injury.

Having both players healthy and available will be a boost for the blue and gold. According to Carlisle, that could happen this week. "It's possible," he said. "We have tomorrow and we'll see where we are. Both of them practiced today without issue. [Haliburton] has got an elbow brace."

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Haliburton spoke with reporters on Tuesday for the first time since his injury. He hates missing games, so this stretch has been tough for him, especially with the team struggling. Fully straightening his left arm is harder than normal right now as a result of his elbow injury, but he still is trending toward a return to game action.

"Just excited to be here and practice today," he said Tuesday. He said that he is not the person that makes the final determination for his availability in the Pacers next game, which is on Thursday against the Los Angeles Lakers. If practice on Wednesday goes well for the star guard, he thinks he will be good to go. "If it was up to me, I would tell you I'm for sure playing Thursday," he said.

"Hopefully aiming to play on Thursday. That's my goal," he added. The Pacers are 22-18 when Haliburton plays and 2-10 when he's been out. When he returns to his starting point guard role, Indiana will significantly improve.

Theis, meanwhile, will have a less clear role when he returns. Between Myles Turner, Jalen Smith, Isaiah Jackson, and Goga Bitadze, there are plenty of big men worthy of minutes on the Pacers roster. It might be hard to get Theis playing time.

His bruising screens and defensive talent will help the team in whatever minutes he gets, though. And having more options in the frontcourt will be better for Carlisle. Theis, like Haliburton, could be available to play later this week, though it depends on how Wednesday's practice goes.

"It was good. No pain, no issues right now," Theis said of practicing and of his health Tuesday. "I think now for me, how I react tomorrow, how I feel, I've got one more day of practice. That determines how we move forward." The 30-year old played in two NBA Finals games last season for the Boston Celtics.

The Pacers will be happy to get more reinforcements, but they still need to play better. They spent much of Tuesday's practice working on defense, and they will hope that the focus on the less glamorous end of the floor leads to improved play Thursday. If it doesn't, Indiana could fall out of playoff positioning. The team could soon have Haliburton and Theis available to help avoid that situation.

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