The Indiana Pacers are waiting with bated breath, as they are yet to determine just how severe the injury Tyrese Haliburton sustained on Monday night against the Boston Celtics truly is. The initial diagnosis for Haliburton is a hamstring strain, although the amount of time that he'll be missing will be depending on what the MRI results turn out.

According to Jeff Stotts, injury analyst for SMART and Rotowire, the Pacers brass will be hoping that Haliburton merely sustained a “low grade” hamstring strain. Stotts pointed out that the average missed time for a low grade hamstring strain is around 13 days; if so, Haliburton will be missing just seven games, which should cause a huge sigh of relief for a team that cannot afford to lose ground in the congested Eastern Conference playoff race.

A grade two strain, however, would cause Tyrese Haliburton to miss around 30 days of action; this would amount to a total of 16 games missed for the Pacers, and by then, the trade deadline will be approaching.

It's a huge concern for the Pacers that Haliburton will be missing anytime; after all, it's Haliburton who enables the team to play the way they do (i.e. put up the best offense in league history). But now, all they can do is hope for the best-case scenario.

Alas, hamstring strains are tricky, and even if Tyrese Haliburton merely sustained a Grade I hamstring strain, one would think that the Pacers will still be erring on the side of caution. These kinds of injuries tend to recur, and the Pacers cannot afford to take many chances with their franchise player.

In the midst of Haliburton's looming absence, the Pacers will now be relying on the likes of TJ McConnell and Andrew Nembhard to fill the bulk of minutes at point guard. This changes Indiana's plans drastically; they were entertaining trade ideas for McConnell not too long ago, but now, it makes sense for them to keep him for insurance at the position.

The Pacers went 1-9 amid Haliburton's absence in January 2023. They will now be hoping to avoid the same outcome as they try to maintain their place in the playoff race with their current 21-15 record.