An injury to Tyrese Haliburton has put a damper on the excitement around the Pacers' trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Late in the third quarter of Game 2, Haliburton exited with an apparent left leg injury and would not return. The injury was later ruled as left hamstring soreness, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
It's unclear how much time Haliburton will miss with the injury, if any, but it's causing some NBA fans to blame a newly implemented rule. Here's why.
MORE: Latest news, updates on Tyrese Haliburton's leg injury
Tyrese Haliburton's injury, explained
Haliburton is dealing with left hamstring soreness, which naturally parallels a strained left hamstring that he suffered in a Jan. 8 win over the Celtics.
To be clear, no evidence currently suggests this injury is related to Haliburton's previous hamstring injury, but the conversation lends itself to discussing the All-NBA guard's recovery the first time around.
In January, Haliburton missed five games before returning to play one game alongside Pascal Siakam in his Pacers debut. Haliburton would then be sidelined for another five games before returning in late January, albeit with a minutes restriction.
During a mid-February appearance on JJ Redick's "Old Man & The Three" podcast, Haliburton admitted that the NBA's new 65-game rule for end-of-season awards impacted his decision to return prematurely.
"If (the 65-game rule) was never the case, I might have been like, maybe give it another game or two, you know, let me think more through this," Haliburton admitted. "Let's try to be 100 percent."
Redick called it a $53 million incentive to return, referring to the contract incentives Haliburton would receive if he were to earn an end-of-season honor.
Haliburton, who appeared in 69 games during the 2023-24 season, qualified for — and earned —All-NBA honors, earning a Third Team nod for his efforts.
As a result, Haliburton will receive 30 percent of the cap max contract on his rookie-scale contract extension, as outlined by Spotrac contributor Keith Smith.
By making All-NBA, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton will now get a 30% of the cap max contract on their rookie scale extension:
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) May 22, 2024
24-25: $42.3M
25-26: $45.7M
26-27: $49.1M
27-28: $52.5M
28-29: $55.8M
Total: five years, $245.3M
Had the rule not been in place, it is unclear how long Haliburton would have been sidelined with his hamstring injury in January. And while the decision to return paid off in more ways than one, the attrition down the stretch from the wear and tear of a 69-game workload is causing valid concerns.
MORE: Final results for 2024 All-NBA First, Second and Third Teams
What is the NBA's 65-game rule?
NBA players have to appear in at least 65 games and be on the court for at least 20 minutes in those games to be eligible for Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, All-NBA and All-Defense.
The 65-game rule does not apply to Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year and All-Rookie.
As The Athletic detailed before the season, there are protections against season-ending injuries (62 games), near misses in minutes (two games of at least 15 minutes) and bad-faith circumstances. There are also procedures in place for players to attempt to regain their eligibility, per ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks, though the pathway to achieving it is said to be "a narrow one."
