The Indiana Pacers announced on Monday that star guard Tyrese Haliburton has a torn Achilles tendon. ESPN reported Haliburton is expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season. Indiana has not announced a timetable for the rehabilitation for Haliburton.
The injury to Haliburton should mean significantly increased roles for Arizona alums Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell. Gonzaga alum Andrew Nembhard, who played for Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd when he was a Bulldogs assistant coach, should also have an increased role.
Mathurin, who was dominant at times during the NBA Finals but struggled with consistency, is expected to move into the starting lineup with Indiana missing Haliburton. Nembhard, who started all 65 games he played in during the 2024-25 season, is listed as an NBA shooting guard but was primarily a college point guard.
Indiana will have to make up for Haliburton's playmaking and scoring. Haliburton was second on Indiana to Pascal Siakam, averaging 18.6 points per game and led the Pacers with 9.2 assists per contest. Siakam averaged 20.2 PPG and Mathurin 16.1 during the 2024-25 regular season.
Mathurin played in 72 games with 49 starts during the 2024-25 regular season. McConnell played in 79 games with one start. Indiana could go small with McConnell and Nembhard in the backcourt and Mathurin and Siakam at the forwards. Indiana could be a team to watch in free agency to add depth without Haliburton.
Mathurin has put up consistent numbers throughout his three-year NBA career but needs to do more consistently on a nightly basis. Eric Moody of ESPN said Mathurin is "always settling into the 15-16 PPG, 5-6 RPG, 2 APG, 1.5 3PG, 45 FG%, 83 FT% range."
Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle knows he will receive maximum effort from McConnell every game. It will be difficult for Indiana to repeat their magical 2025 NBA Playoff run from fourth seed in the Eastern Conference to the NBA Finals without Haliburton.