Is Tyrese Haliburton playing tonight against LA Lakers? Latest update on All-Star guard's status (Dec. 9)

Tyrese Haliburton is raring to lead the Indiana Pacers on Saturday against the LA Lakers for the NBA In-Season Tournament championship. The All-Star has unquestionably been the biggest breakout star in the said competition. His back-to-back excellent performances in eliminating the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks were the biggest reasons Indiana booked a seat in the finals. The Pacers’ title hopes start and end with him.

Haliburton isn’t on the injury report so he is playing on Friday. After beating the Bucks on Thursday, he already expressed his excitement and eagerness for what lies ahead. He and his teammates will have a chance to become the inaugural winner of the aforementioned competition.

The Indiana Pacers have insisted that not many wanted them to be where they are now. They are a small market team that is led by an emerging star who has barely played in front of a national audience.

The Pacers are not content with what they have accomplished so far. Coach Rick Carlisle’s team is convinced that behind Tyrese Haliburton, they have what it takes to capture the first NBA Cup championship.

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Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is excited to meet LeBron James in the NBA In-Season Tournament Finals

LeBron James has been to the NBA Finals 10 times. He owns a staggering number of postseason records and is a four-time finals MVP. “King James” has won nearly everything in his career in the NBA. One of the things that is still missing in his collection is the NBA In-Season Tournament championship trophy.

Tyrese Haliburton, meanwhile, hasn’t played a single minute in the playoffs. He has been playing so well in the knockout stages simply because he wanted to embrace the pressure of a high-stakes NBA game. Saturday night’s head-to-head against James is easily the biggest yet in his career.

Here’s what Haliburton had to say about facing the legendary player in the finals:

“Like any kid born in 2000, LeBron’s [James] my favorite player growing up. … Growing up, I was a Cavs fan, a Heat fan and then a Cavs fan again and a Lakers fan before I got drafted. … To be able to compete against him in the championship, it’s kind of like a storybook, a little bit. It’s gonna be a lot of fun. I really look forward to that.”

The Indiana Pacers are on a Cinderella run in the NBA In-Season Tournament. Tyrese Haliburton will be going all out to cap it off with the biggest win of his career. LeBron James, his idol growing up, will do everything he can to ruin Indiana’s attempted storybook ending.