NBA Rumors: Tyrese Haliburton will 'not be 100 percent' in Game 3 vs. Celtics

NBA Rumors: The Indiana Pacers could be without Tyrese Haliburton as they look to protect their homecourt in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Down 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Indiana Pacers will need to salvage their season by protecting their homecourt in Games 3 and 4. However, that could prove to be difficult with an ailing star player.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, there is "real concern" surrounding Tyrese Haliburton's status ahead of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. He's listed as questionable as the series shifts to Indiana and even if he does play, he's not expected to be anywhere near 100 percent.

The Indiana Pacers have a big question to answer on the Tyrese Haliburton front

That's not exactly surprising considering he left Game 2 with the hamstring injury, but the true question revolves around how limited he's going to be in terms of mobility and how much of a liability he's going to be when he's on the floor for the Pacers.

Because if he is a clear liability, there's a bigger decision that will have to be made. If Haliburton is far from himself, would it really benefit the Pacers from throwing him on the floor? Indiana is already facing an uphill battle heading into Game 3. The last thing they need is another hurdle that has the team constantly playing 4-on-5 on the defensive end of the floor every trip.

And if Haliburton is not going to be able to have his normal mobility, there's a chance that can happen. And against a team like the Celtics, I'm sure head coach Joe Mazzulla isn't simply going to allow that to happen without taking advantage of it.

Mazzulla has emerged as one of the best coaches in the league over the past two seasons and I'm sure he will have a prepared game plan either way in how to attack the Pacers. At the same time, it's easy to see why Indiana would want to have their best players on the floor with their playoff lives on the line.

You can't blame the Pacers but sometimes there are moments when you have to roll with the healthy bodies. Right now, Haliburton may not be one of those players. Either way, it will be entertaining to see it play out.

The Celtics will be looking to take one more step toward punching their ticket to the NBA Finals while the Pacers will be looking to protect their homecourt in Game 3.