Indiana Pacers still figuring out how to manage Tyrese Haliburton minutes restriction after loss to Sacramento Kings

The Pacers dropped their third-straight game on Friday

INDIANAPOLIS — Tyrese Haliburton is back on the court for the Indiana Pacers. He returned from an absence due to a Grade 1 hamstring strain that caused him to miss 10 out of 11 games earlier this week. Having him back is great news for the blue and gold.

Now, though, the Pacers are working on integrating Haliburton into the lineup while considering his short and long-term health, and it has been a challenge for Indiana so far. They are 0-3 this week with the All-Star guard back in the rotation.

Haliburton has played a total of 65:30 in those games, averaging less than 22 minutes a night. Prior to this week, the only other time the star guard received less than 25 minutes of playing time in a game this season was the outing in which he injured his hamstring. Because Haliburton's minutes limit exists — he said it isn't locked in to a specific number and that it's a constant conversation — he hasn't been playing in all four quarters.

Tuesday and Thursday, Haliburton's playing time was split across the first, second, and third periods. Last night, in a loss to the Sacramento Kings, the opening frame was replaced by the fourth quarter. Neither decision has led to a victory. The Pacers are trying to figure out the best way to spread out the minutes of their star.

"Nobody's more frustrated than I am," Haliburton said of his situation. He acknowledged that it was weird to come off the bench Friday night, something he previously hadn't done since April 21, 2021. "I'm not a fan of any of it, but I understand I've gotta do what I've gotta do to be on the floor right now."

The challenge for the Pacers isn't just maximizing Haliburton's playing time. He's got to be fresh and not have any injury risk when he's on the court. There's also the challenge of getting the most out of the other 26 or so minutes every night. It's more taxing on other shot creators, including Andrew Nembhard (who needed a "recharge" on Friday night), T.J. McConnell, Pascal Siakam, and Bennedict Mathurin. McConnell and Mathurin were sidelined earlier this week, too, which added more to the Pacers difficulty level.

Those players all have to toggle between aggressive lead creator and secondary initiator throughout games. With the goal of long-term health for Haliburton, forcing that challenge on those players is the right thing to do. But it's hard on Indiana when it comes to results right now.

"The hope is that as we move along here that the minutes levels increase and that all this can fade away," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of the situation. "But player health has got to be at the top of the list of priorities."

Carlisle explained that it can be a challenge to bring a player back from an absence, and the Pacers have to figure out how to keep Haliburton warm even when he isn't on the hardwood. Managing his body and health doesn't stop at limiting his minutes.

The other hurdle for Carlisle is figuring out when those minutes should come. If they are earlier in the game, it's more likely that the Pacers are ahead late. But then they don't have Haliburton to close the game. That's the situation they faced in a loss to the New York Knicks Thursday night, and they were close with Boston late on Tuesday.

After those two results, Indiana flipped things around for Friday night's outing. They wanted Haliburton ready for the fourth quarter. On one hand, they were winning after the first period, and Haliburton didn't play in the frame. On the other hand, the star guard entered the game cold in the second quarter and was sharing the floor with two rookies. Indiana lost the lead at that stretch and never got it back.

The idea to switch around when Haliburton played came from the guard himself. "The last two games, I felt like if I finished the game we had a better chance to win," he said before acknowledging that this was the way that Indiana felt was best to accomplish that. He thought he played poorly on Friday in his new minutes allotment.

"This is something we talked about last night with him. He was in favor of having the ability to finish the game," Carlisle added. "Tonight, it was a shift. Not an easy thing to do, obviously."

Mathurin and McConnell were in the opening five against Sacramento. McConnell finished with nine points and seven assists, the Pacers outscored the Kings in his playing time. Mathurin had 31 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. He was terrific and posted one of his best games of the season.

Indiana wasn't consistent offensively, though, and their defense was dreadful all night. They were down double digits for most of the second half as they navigated their altered rotation.

"It's tough," Mathurin said. "We're pretty much used to what [Haliburton] is capable of doing, so not having that for sure doesn't help the team." He and Siakam are trying to figure out when they need to really flex their shot creation muscles within the Pacers' new reality.

Haliburton played Thursday and Friday night, and he was happy about getting through the back-to-back. He needs to see how his hamstring responds before the blue and gold next play, which is on Sunday in Charlotte.

Carlisle said that lineups will remain fluid going into that game. The Pacers, losers of three straight, are searching for the right answers while they work Haliburton back into the rotation safely. 

"I don't like any of it," Haliburton said of battling his way back from injury. But it's a requirement that he goes through it. He still can feel a little pain after some games, so sticking to the plan when it comes to ramping up his activity level is important.

All in all, everyone involved in these decisions knows that this process is all required for Haliburton to come back correctly and be healthy late in the season. That's the most important factor for Indiana to consider.

Right now, though, it's leading to some bumps in the road that the team has to work through. They'll try to figure some of it out and get a win against the Hornets tomorrow.

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• Tyrese Haliburton is named a 2024 NBA All-Star starter, he will represent Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis. CLICK HERE.
• Pascal Siakam discusses long-term future with Indiana Pacers and upcoming free agency. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers trade deadline rumor tracker. CLICK HERE.
• Pacers doomed by poor defense in loss to Sacramento Kings as losing streak reaches three. CLICK HERE.
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