Haliburton gives odd explanation for the increased number of achilles injuries
The Indiana Pacers star fell to an achilles injury in the NBA Championship Finals, and has a long recovery ahead.
The Indiana Pacers fell at the final hurdle against the Oklahoma City Thunder in their quest to become NBA champions. The team led by Rick Carlisle could not overpower the strength of their opponents, and less so without their star, Tyrese Haliburton, who fell injured in the final game with an achilles tear.
In what is a shocking statistic, Haliburton was seventh overall player last season to suffer an achilles injury, and the the third player to suffer a tear in the playoffs alone.
In his first public appearance since the injury, Haliburton told “The Pat McAfee Show” that “I think that there’s like a notion when guys get injured or when this has happened so many times that everybody thinks that they have the answer to why this is happening.”
‘Everybody thinks we play too many games... I don’t think that is what’s causing these injuries’
He then revealed his opinion on why there have been so many injuries to the same part of the body in elite athletes: "Everybody thinks we play too many games, we play too many minutes -- all those things could be true, but I don’t think that is what’s causing these injuries.”
“So I don’t think that anybody has necessarily the answer,” Haliburton admitted. “I think injuries are just bad luck sometimes and that’s just what happened. I think that’s just what happens in sports sometimes.”
On his own injury, something that has ruled him out for the entirety of next season, Haliburton explained that “After Game 6, I’m like, ‘It’s done, it’s gone, adrenaline is going to get to me, I’m going to be good’. I go to Game 7, I feel nothing. I feel great going into the game. I think that’s why I had a great start to the game. My body felt great. Then obviously, that happens in the end.”
“I think I want to take this time to keep growing my mind for the game,” he said, “being around coach [Rick] Carlisle. Sit in on coaches’ meetings. [Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin] Pritchard, talking to those guys and helping. I feel like I have a pretty decent basketball mind myself. So I’m just trying to help the guys as best as I can. I’m going to be on the bench as soon as I can walk.”
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For what it’s worth, NBA commissioner Adam Silver agrees with Haliburton’s opinion, but then again, he would. Blaming high-severity injuries to a large percentage of players on the number of NBA games in a season would be a move that would inevitably lead to a lower number of matches, decreasing everything from revenue to coverage and TV viewer numbers.
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