For the first time in 10 years, the Indiana Pacers have reached the second round of the NBA Playoffs. The last time they did it prior to the 2023-24 NBA season was back in 2014 when Paul George was still starring for the franchise and with Frank Vogel at the helm as head coach. This time, it's Tyrese Haliburton pacing Indiana and Rick Carlisle calling the shots from the sidelines.

Speaking of Haliburton, the Pacers point guard is carrying a question mark at the moment with regards to his availability to play in the series opener against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden this Monday night. The question is this: Is Tyrese Haliburton playing tonight vs. the Knicks?

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Tyrese Haliburton injury status vs. Knicks

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) drives for the basket against Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) in the second quarter at Fiserv ForumBenny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Without a doubt, the Pacers wouldn't have a game to play at this point of the year without the excellent play this season of Haliburton. Haliburton was initially listed as questionable heading to Game 1 of the Knicks series because of low back spasms, according to the NBA's official injury report for Monday's games. It is worth mentioning, though, that Haliburton also had to deal with the same back issue in the first round versus the Milwaukee Bucks and managed to play all six games in that matchup.

During the series against the Bucks, the former Iowa State Cyclones star averaged 16.0 points, 9.3 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting only 43.5 percent from the floor and 29.6 percent from behind the arc. Outside of rebounds, all those numbers are down from his regular-season digits, as his back injury perhaps slowed him down. The Knicks are a different animal than the Bucks.

Fortunately, Haliburton has since been upgraded to available.

New York can be stingy defensively and is a team that seems to like wearing out its opponents, so expect the Knicks to have a target on the back (no pun intended) of Haliburton, who played well in three games opposite the Knickerbockers back in the regular season. Conversely, Haliburton and the Pacers love pushing the ball and moving the leather around. In the regular season, the Pacers ranked second in adjusted offensive rating (120.1) and second overall in pace (102.1). In the three meetings thus far with the Knicks this season, Haliburton averaged 19.7 points on 51.2 percent shooting from the field, 13.3 assists, and 4.0 rebounds.

In the event that Haliburton is limited during Monday's showdown against Jalen Brunson and company, the Pacers could turn to TJ McConnell to fill in for him at the point guard position, while Ben Sheppard can also expect an uptick in minutes. McConnel has been fantastic in the playoffs thus far for Indiana. He was especially impressive during the Pacers' series-clinching 120-98 win over the Bucks last Thursday when he poured 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting with nine assists and four steals in just 23 minutes of action off the bench.

Moreover, the pair of Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner would have heavier loads, particularly on offense, if Haliburton sits out Game 1 of the Knicks series. It would be interesting to see how Siakam and Turner operate on the court without the Pacers' top facilitator in Haliburton, but either way, they have big roles in the second round.

So, when it comes to the question of if Tyrese Haliburton is playing tonight vs. the Knicks, the answer is YES!