Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton eyeing return vs. Celtics

Since slipping on the court and suffering a Grade 1 strain to his left hamstring against the Boston Celtics on Jan. 8, Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton has suited up for just one of the team’s next 11 games. 

Roughly three weeks later, Haliburton is eyeing a return to the floor when the Pacers face the Celtics... again.

According to ESPN’s Senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, there is “optimism” that Indy will welcome their All-Star floor general back to the lineup when the Pacers travel to TD Garden to face Boston on Tuesday, Jan. 30.

Tyrese Haliburton injury update: Indiana Pacers star set to return vs. Boston Celtics

Haliburton last played on Jan. 19, when recently acquired All-NBA forward Pascal Siakam made his Pacers debut against the Portland Trail Blazers, only to miss each of the next five games.

In that contest, Haliburton looked no worse for wear, recording 21 points, 17 assists, and two rebounds while committing zero turnovers in 35 minutes of play. However, the Pacers elected to take a cautious approach with their franchise point guard since.

Recently selected to represent Indiana as an Eastern Conference All-Star starter, which is being hosted by the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Haliburton is in the midst of a career season. In 34 games, he’s averaging a career-high 23.6 points per game while leading the NBA in assists per game (12.6) as the lead ball handler and playmaker for the highest-scoring offense in the NBA.

Sitting at 27-20 and in sixth place in the East standings, the Pacers have stayed afloat sans Haliburton. In 10 games without him during this recent stretch (excluding the Jan. 19 against Portland), Indy has gone 6-4.

Trailing the New York Knicks (who will be without All-Star forward Julius Randle for the foreseeable future) by 2.5 games for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, Haliburton’s return to the court couldn’t come at a more opportune time for the Pacers.