Tyrese Haliburton had a true breakout season last year, emerging as an All-Star and All-NBA selection before leading the Indiana Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals. His emergence prompted the franchise to acquire former All-Star Pascal Siakam, and the team is expected to contend this season. Unfortunately, it seems they’re off to a slow start in the 2024-25 campaign, primarily because of Haliburton’s struggles.
Haliburton has put up 37 points, (12.3 PPG), 10 rebounds (3.3 RPG), and 11 assists (3.7 APG) while going 14-44 (31.8 FG%) from the field, (20.0 3P%) from three, and 4-7 (57.1% FT%) from the free throw line through the Pacers opening three games.
As Indiana sports a 1-2 record in a more competitive East, there is pressure on the franchise to do well and for Haliburton to prove he’s among the league’s best point guards. With this being the first year of a five-year, $244.6-million extension, should the Pacers be worried about what’s coming next from last season’s assists leader?
What’s Gone Wrong?
The opening three games of the 2024-25 NBA season constitute Haliburton’s worst stretch of games while fully healthy in a very long time.
He opened the season with a 15-point outing against last year’s worst team, the Detroit Pistons. In a game where the Pacers squeaked past the Pistons 109-105, Haliburton went 6-18 from the field before burying a late three, his one make on nine attempts that night, to help the Pacers take the six-point lead and hold on to win.
Pacers use Pascal Siakam as a screener for Tyrese Haliburton. Pistons don't switch, help on the roll and now it's ball movement vs. rotations. Effort there but Pacers kept working, Haliburton hits a big 3. pic.twitter.com/GATiQSbueq
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) October 24, 2024
Many expected Haliburton to bounce back against the New York Knicks, a team they eliminated in the 2024 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals but were left stunned as Tyrese recorded 0 points, going 0-8 from the field (0-7 from three) in a shocking performance. He looked out of sorts and was benched after the third quarter as the Pacers were blown out 98-123.
Last night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers was Haliburton’s best of the season, as he scored 22 points (8-18 FG). However, any positives that could have been taken were eliminated, as Haliburton cost the Pacers a chance to go to 2OT.
With five seconds to go in overtime, 76ers forward Caleb Martin grabbed Haliburton for an intentional foul to avoid a potential game-winning three-pointer as the Pacers needed just two points to force 2OT. With a chance to tie the game, Tyrese went to the line and missed the first free throw before the Pacers failed to rebound his intentional miss for the next shot to keep themselves in the game. Martin managed to corral the board and pass it to Tyrese Maxey, who went to the line and iced the game.
Haliburton’s playmaking impact looks far-reduced this season compared to last season, when he orchestrated the NBA’s fastest offense, averaging 20.1 points and 10.9 assists and leading the league in assists. With his offensive powers seemingly being nerfed, the Pacers have struggled to look good to open the season.
Should Fans Or The Pacers Be Worried About This Slump?
Haliburton looks uncharacteristically bad to start the season. We’ve seen stars have cold spells and bad stretches, but Haliburton isn’t looking comfortable on the court. This is a worrying sign for many fans and analysts, with some questioning if the league has figured the Pacers style out after their emergence last season. If the way Haliburton plays has been game-planned for by opposing teams, it could be a rough season for the Pacers.
But from where I stand, this is not a sign of worry. It’s not ideal that he’s started the season as badly as he has, but there are 79 more games of basketball where Tyrese can highlight his impact again.
He looked much-improved against the 76ers, although his efficiency was poor and his playmaking was subpar in a two-assist performance. The game would have never gone to OT unless Haliburton didn’t make a clutch late three with seconds left in regulation.
https://twitter.com/OhYesHeDid24/status/1850662468906877250
I would encourage sticking with Haliburton after he works out the chinks in his game from the first week.
As a point guard, his offensive responsibility will not be reduced at any point this season, especially with the long-term contract that he was awarded for reaching All-NBA status last season. With the consistent opportunities, he’ll become comfortable on the court and wind up bouncing back, as all great players do.
This is a great opportunity for Haliburton to evolve his offensive game, as defenses have started predicting his tendencies to block out timely kick-outs and alter his shots with his relatively slow stroke. He needs to develop a more cogent mid-range game, attempting just eight shots from eight to 24 feet this season and converting just two.
Given his scoring has never been reliable compared to the other superstar guards in the NBA like Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, or Trae Young, he needs to elevate his game on that front to be more impactful, as the start of this season has shown. I’d back the 24-year-old guard to develop that aspect of his game as the season progresses, so neither the fanbase nor the organization has any need to panic right now.
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