INDIANAPOLIS — Omo, di NBA Finals don get pepper as Tyrese Haliburton, di star guard for Indiana Pacers, don chook himself inside Game 6 despite calf wahala wey don dey bother am. As di Pacers dey face elimination trailing di Oklahoma City Thunder 3-2, Haliburton don decide say he no go sit down and watch. I mean, who go wan miss dis kind fina? (Dem say no be small thing.)
Coach Rick Carlisle don talk say di young player go dey ready for di matchup wey go happen Thursday night. Haliburton don suffer injury for Game 5 last Monday, but no be dat one go stop am. He don jam di weight test, do walkthrough with di team, and dem say no minutes limit dey for am. Na only monitoring dey happen, like dem dey watch for hawk.
Haliburton get serious game experience—nobody fit doubt. Even for di last match, wey dem lose, he shine like diamond with 4 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. But e no score single field goal… Chei! (No be so e dey do normally sha, but na wah). E still manage play through di pain wey come from di calf injury. Na strong man e be.
As di season don reach di climax, Haliburton no say na serious game we dey talk about. He don matter for di Pacers since di playoffs start, averaging 17.9 points and 9.1 assists. As dem dey compete hard, him don become di engine wey dey push di team forward.
Now e don influence big moments, like di game-winner for Game 1 wey don land dem well for di Finals. I mean, he no fit afford to just sit down or take chance, because if dem lose dis one, na bye-bye dem go say. So he dey gather strength like say na Olympic race he go run.
“If I fit waka, I go play,” Haliburton talk after Game 5. Na true paddy go always want carry di weight for im team. Na so e dey bust mind for all di serious players. E don go through plenty treatments—needles, massage, electronic stimulation, and hyperbaric therapy. Na superman wey dey inside Haliburton body we go fit talk about.
Wetin di Thunder Coach Mark Daigneault talk? E don align say na dem dey expect di best from Haliburton, whether e dey experience calf wahala or not. E sabi wetin e dey do, and dem no go underestimate am. True talk.
But make we no forget say, if e no dey fit, di Pacers go need plan B sharp sharp. E don miss matches before because of injury, and di team feel am. If dem no fit deliver, wetin remain for dem? Di way things dey go, na just prayer wey remain o.
