Indiana Pacers superstar point guard Tyrese Haliburton has been hit with some brutal 2026-27 projections.
The start of the 2026-27 NBA season can't get here soon enough for Indiana Pacers fans. After suffering through a brutal year last season, Tyrese Haliburton is set to make his return to the court from a torn Achilles in the season opener.
Haliburton led the Pacers to an NBA Finals run during the 2024-25 campaign. He took the team all the way to Game 7 of the Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder before going down with the Achilles injury.
While the excitement is building for his return to the court, there are many questions swirling about what fans should expect to see from him. Will he pick up where he left off? Could he take a step back after suffering such a serious injury?
No one knows exactly what to expect, but everyone is offering their opinion.
With that being said, RotoWire has come out with their projections for Haliburton during the 2026-27 season. Their projections suggest a brutal season coming.
RotoWire has predicted that Haliburton will only average 12.3 points, 6.5 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game.
There is reason to think that Haliburton could take some time to ramp back up from the Achilles injury. However, he is back at full health. The mental side of his recovery will be the most difficult to start of the upcoming year.
If the season ended and the above numbers were what he produced, it would be a massive disappointment for both Indiana and Haliburton. He may not be exactly the same player at the beginning of the year, but Haliburton has clear motivation to be better than he was pre-injury.
Kevin Pritchard and the Pacers' front office has built out a very talented roster around their star point guard. Dropping to 12.3 points would be disappointing, but the fall in assists per game would be devastating. At the very least, Haliburton should still be an elite distributor.
Throughout his career, Haliburton has faced plenty of doubt and criticism. Ahead of the NBA Finals run, he was voted the most overrated player in the NBA. This projection will simply be an added chip on his shoulder to prove the doubters wrong.
No one should expect Haliburton to look exactly the same throughout the opening few weeks of the year. But, it shouldn't take too long for him to get back to being the clear-cut franchise player in Indiana.
It will be interesting to see what the 2026-27 season has in store for Haliburton and the Pacers. The RotoWire projection may be disappointing, but it will simply add to the entertainment when the superstar point guard blows past them and gets his career back on track.
We have also suggested some realistic expectations for Haliburton this season for fans to check out.
