Speaking in a recent GQ interview, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton explained what it felt like to watch his team get overlooked time and time again last season. Things turned around in the playoffs but Tyrese admits that the respect will only come when his team achieves the ultimate results.
“All I keep seeing is, ‘Who’s going to win the East? Boston, Milwaukee, New York, or Philly?’” Haliburton said. “It’s like, what are we doing [not being included]? But again, we’re Indiana, people didn’t even know, people didn’t even watch us play until the playoffs. People didn’t watch us play until the second round,” said Haliburton, via GQ. “But again, that respect comes with winning. So if we want to gain that respect, we just got to keep having success as a team. And it’s coming.”
The Pacers came in hot to start the 2024-24 campaign. As Tyrese Haliburton rose the NBA leaderboard, the Pacers were playing like a true contender in the East and challenged for a top-four seed. In the end, however, the Pacers ran out of steam, and not even the arrival of Pascal Siakam was enough to save their season.
While they managed to make the Conference Finals after series wins over the Bucks and Knicks, the Pacers were underdogs in every series and were picked to lose every step of the way.
Whether through sheer luck, skill, or injuries, the Pacers advanced to the Conference Finals and it was their first real taste of defeat in the postseason. With the additions of Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin, the Pacers shored up their defensive frontcourt but it’s still Haliburton in the backcourt that will drive this team’s success.
The 2x All-Star averaged 20.1 points, 10.9 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game last season on 47.7% shooting. He led the Pacers to the 6th seed in the East despite various injuries and a mid-season trade.
For Hali, his validation will come when it’s time to step up in the playoffs. When the stakes are high, fans want to see if Tyrese can rise to the occasion and deliver a win like only the best of the best can do. on a regular basis. We saw a glimpse of it during the mid-season tournament when the Pacers made the Finals for a matchup against LeBron James. We also saw it when they made the East Finals this past year.
They’ll need to go all the way to the title in order to validate their claim as one of the East’s elite but they’ve made good progress over the past few years. With Haliburton and NBA champion Pascal Siakam leading the way, it’s hard to deny the Pacers are in a good spot and should be competitive in the East for many years to come.
Maybe like the Celtics did this year, they’ll prove themselves once and for all by winning a championship and closing any doubts about their status in the league.
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