Tyrese Haliburton has, on several occasions, been scrutinized by the NBA media for lackluster performances in the NBA Finals so far. From in-game commentary to social media takes, critics have surrounded Haliburton for not playing like a conventional superstar. Like Kendrick Perkins or Richard Jefferson, who both vocalized their criticism of Haliburton during these Finals. Perkins called out Haliburton’s box score while Jefferson said he was shooting tour dates.
But he doesn’t seem to concern himself too much with it because, for him, it is more important that his team is playing winning basketball than his individual success. He had 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 11 assists in Game 3. After the Pacers won 116-107 in Indiana, Haliburton spoke to the media and addressed the commentary that revolved around his low-scoring games.
“I think the commentary is always going to be what it is, you know. Most of the time, the talking heads on the major platforms, I couldn’t care less, honestly, like what do they really know about basketball? But I think as a group you know and watching film myself, seeing where I can get better is important. And at a time like this, I’m not really on social media as much, I try to stay off it as much as I can. But you know you see it and you know ESPN might be on in my house, and there it is, and you know it is what it is, but I think just seeing where I can be better is the most important thing.”
He went on to explain his process of getting better through training, discussions with his coach, and constantly watching film. Haliburton is not averse to improving his own mistakes, but he is not focused on scoring 28+ points per night like a conventional superstar.
“But the commentary is what it is at this point. It doesn’t matter, we’re here in the NBA finals, two wins away from an NBA championship. You just got to stay with it, put my head down, keep working, and as a group we just got to keep learning from our mistakes, seeing where we can get better, and uh take it a day at a time.”
Not just 28, Haliburton is not even averaging 20 points per game in the NBA Finals. He has averaged 17.7 points, 7.7 assists, and 7.3 rebounds in 3 games played in this series so far. But this only goes to prove that he is not single-handedly carrying the team’s offensive load. He even admitted that their bench won them this game. And indeed it was Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell who were the difference makers for the Pacers off the bench. Mathurin had 27 points to lead all scorers, and McConnell had 5 steals.
What Gilgeous-Alexander Said About T.J. McConnell’s Game 3
Following the Thunder’s Game 3 loss to the Pacers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander spoke to the media about their performance as a team. A reporter asked him about T.J. McConnell, who recorded five steals and five assists en route to his 10 points in only 15 minutes.
“Yeah, those plays hurt, especially because they’re very controllable. You can take your time on the ball, but you make mistakes in basketball, no matter the stage. And we definitely had opportunities to cover those things up. But also, you also don’t let plays like that happen. So yeah, like it just goes back to being tighter, being more focused, being more forceful all night, and things like that really hurt for sure.”
Gilgeous-Alexander finished the game with 24 points as the Thunder lost by seven points. The Thunder must bounce back from this loss in Game 4 or else this series is over.
