Projected Pacers lineup if Tyrese Haliburton misses Game 6

The Indiana Pacers were hit with significant bad news on Tuesday afternoon. Tyrese Haliburton is believed to have suffered a right calf strain in their Game 5 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

He will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, but calf strains are no joke. This seriously compromises his outlook for Game 6 and the rest of the series. There is a good chance Indiana will face elimination without its All-NBA point guard and clutch engine.

Tyrese Haliburton's Game 6 status in doubt after untimely calf strain

It's clear that Haliburton motivated to play. Here's what he told reporters in the aftermath of Game 5, which saw Haliburton return from the injury mid-game, but also miss all six of his field goal attempts in what will go down as a historically bad NBA Finals shooting performance:

“It’s the Finals, I worked my whole life to get here... If I can walk, I can play.”

If Haliburton does suit up, he will be severely limited in how he can move on the court. If he doesn't play, the Pacers will face a steep uphill battle against one of the most dominant regular season teams of their generation. OKC's Game 4 stunner, followed up by a Game 5 smackdown, has swung all momentum in the Thunder's favor.

Here's how Indy's lineup stacks up without Haliburton.

Projected Game 6 lineup if Tyrese Haliburton can't suit up for Pacers

Bennedict Mathurin was critical to Indiana's Game 3 victory, dropping 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting in 22 minutes. It has been a struggle since then, but he is Indiana's surest source of offensive firepower off the bench. He also started 49 games in the regular season, so it's not an unfamiliar spot for him.

There are a few other potential configurations worth considering — T.J. McConnell and Andrew Nembhard is a small backcourt, but their defensive intensity and constant rim pressure could give Inidana a shot in the arm — but in reality, the Pacers are bound to lean on Mathurin's scoring chops, with McConnell continuing to man the second unit.

To be completely frank, this lineup has no chance against OKC. Haliburton is a unique star engine in that he's not always the leading scorer or even a particularly high volume shooter. But, he sets the table with tempo and precision, pulling the strings like a puppetmaster and putting all his teammates in a better position to succeed. Pascal Siakam, Mathurin and others can step into a more pronounced offensive role, but there's not a one-for-one — or even a two-for-one — replacement for Haliburton's high-feel creativity.