Tyrese Haliburton Is Back — And the Pacers Finally Have Their Engine Again

Tyrese Haliburton played his first real NBA game in 486 days Wednesday night in New Orleans. The Pacers won 123-120 over the Pelicans, and Haliburton finished with 23 points and 12 assists. That is not a “welcome back” line. That is the version of Haliburton that made Indiana a problem in the first place.

He tore his right Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 Finals against Oklahoma City. The Pacers spent the entire next season without him and went 19-63. They looked like a completely different team — slower, less connected, and missing the pace and decision-making that Haliburton forces on both ends. Last year proved how much the roster was built around him. This year is the test of whether that version still exists after the injury.

Haliburton has said he is fully cleared with no restrictions. Rick Carlisle has acknowledged they will be cautious with his minutes early, but the expectation is that he is not on a hard limit. In his return, he ran the offense, found shooters, and looked comfortable creating in transition and in the half-court. Pascal Siakam (30 points) and the supporting cast still have to do their part, but the difference in how the offense flowed with Haliburton on the floor was obvious. Indiana was not the same team when he sat last year. They are not the same team when he is healthy.

What it means for the Pacers

With Haliburton back, Indiana has its primary creator and its best decision-maker again. Andrew Nembhard can play off the ball more. Siakam gets cleaner looks. Ivica Zubac, who was added to give them a real rim-protecting and rebounding presence, has a point guard who can actually find him in the right spots. The Pacers’ offense is designed around pace and ball movement. Haliburton is the one who makes that work at a high level. Without him, it was theoretical. With him, it has a chance to be dangerous again.

The floor is higher immediately. The Pacers were a bottom-tier team last season because they lacked the guy who organizes everything. Even a healthy-but-rusty Haliburton raises their ceiling more than almost any other single addition in the league. The question is consistency. Achilles recoveries are not always linear. Explosiveness, burst, and late-game stamina can take time. Early-season turnovers and fatigue are realistic. The Pacers do not need Haliburton to be All-NBA in October. They need him available and effective enough that the rest of the roster can play the way it was built to play.

Projections if he stays healthy

Most projections have the Pacers in the mid-40s for wins if Haliburton plays the majority of the season. Win totals around 44–45 have been the common number. That would put them in the mix for a top-six seed in the East, with a realistic chance to push higher if Siakam stays at an All-Star level, Zubac holds up as the defensive anchor, and the supporting cast (Nembhard, Oubre, Toppin, and the bench) contributes without major drop-offs.

Best-case scenario with Haliburton healthy for most of the year: a top-four seed and a team that can make real noise in the playoffs. The Pacers already proved they can go deep when the core is intact. Worst-case is another injury or a slower recovery that leaves them fighting just to stay above .500. The difference between those outcomes is largely whether Haliburton can stay on the floor and play at something close to his 2024-25 level.

One game does not prove he is fully back. Twenty-three and twelve in a win is a strong start, but the real evaluation comes over the next 20–30 games. If the burst is there, the turnovers stay manageable, and he is still playing big minutes in March and April, the Pacers are a legitimate playoff team again. If the Achilles recovery limits him, last year’s version of this roster is what they become.

Haliburton’s return is the single biggest reason Indiana has any shot at relevance this season. Everything else — Zubac’s fit, Siakam’s consistency, the depth — matters. None of it matters as much as whether the point guard who tore his Achilles in the Finals can play like himself again. Wednesday was the first real data point. It was a good one.