Playing devil's advocate for a second and say, was Haliburton really that bad last night (vs CLE) or are we suffering from pace issues and being too forgiving of the rest of the roster (Not saying I agree with this, just presenting)
In a vacuum, Haliburton's counting stats look pretty normal for a game where the team scored 103 points instead of their season average of 123 points.
14 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 4/14 from the field, 1/9 from 3, 5/5 from the FT line, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 3 turnovers.
Certainly this is below our expectations for Haliburton based on what he has established, having said that it was an off pace game for the whole team. We can also address that Haliburton is an issue defensively, we know this, nothing new here, though I do think he's been better on that end the past couple months, or at least presenting more effort. Regardless, yes, a ding to his game and something that undoubtedly has to get better.
I've noticed a small talking point appearing on here and on twitter, which is that Haliburton is being selfish. The facts really don't line up with this. 12 assists in 32 minutes is more than in line with Haliburton's season averages, and when you consider it against Indiana's pace yesterday, he's actually well above his season average in sharing the ball. Haliburton assisted on 29% of our made field goals yesterday. His A/TO ratio was 4, which is about where he's hovered since the ASB and for anyone but Tyrese Haliburton is an otherworldly number for a point guard that has the ball as much as he does.
So I'm going to take this another way, for a guy in a slump, a scorer in a slump, Tyrese Haliburton isn't being selfish enough.
Let's dig deeper.
In the 13 games since the all star break, Tyrese has led the team in FGA only 3 times, and they all happen to be wins, vs DET on 2/22, vs DAL on 2/25, and @ ORL on 3/10.
He's finished 2nd or tied for 2nd in FGA in 7 games, the Pacers are 3-4 in those games.
He's finished 3rd or below in FGA in 3 games, the Pacers are 1-2 in those games.
The Pacers need Tyrese to shoot more, why? Because he's not actually in a slump, he's just in a slump from 3.
Since the ASB, Tyrese is 58/93 on 2 PT FGs, a casual, cool, more than acceptable from a lead guard 62%. He's also blistering away at over 90% from the FT line during that time period.
So why is he so obsessed with the 3 point shot? And maybe more importantly, why haven't the Pacers discussed any of this with him? I'm not even against Tyrese shooting 3s to try and get his rhythm back, but what I am saying the team needs him to do that he is not doing, is look for his own shot more when he is FT line and in. He's passing out of these opportunities constantly, frequently his turnovers are coming from these situations, he has an opportunity to take a 2 and yet he tries to pass backwards to the perimeter, often times passing back into his own defender who he has already beaten. (This happened at least twice last night that I can remember).
During this same 13 game stretch, the Pacers as a team have shot 58% from 2. This makes Haliburton's efficiency in that area, even more impressive, the Pacers are one of (I believe might actually be the best 2 point shooting team in the league) and our best player still does better than that league best mark by a pretty decent percentage.
And yes I know the math, a 3 is worth more than a 2, but if you shoot 58% on 100 2 point attempts and 33% on 100 3 point attempts (think this is around where the team is from beyond the arc over the last month or so), you're gonna score 116 points on the 2 pt FGA and 99 points on the 3 pt FGA, you're also likely going to generate more free throws attempting the 2 pt FGs.
I know this is counter intuitive to the league as a whole, I know that basketball is played from behind the arc, but the facts are simple, the Pacers are elite at scoring inside of the arc, Haliburton is elite at scoring inside of the arc, and in a league where so many great scorers have made their living in that area, the Pacers need to get him to look to score more from inside the arc. The Pacers as a whole should consider this.
But more importantly Tyrese, you're not in a slump, you just think you are.
In a vacuum, Haliburton's counting stats look pretty normal for a game where the team scored 103 points instead of their season average of 123 points.
14 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 4/14 from the field, 1/9 from 3, 5/5 from the FT line, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 3 turnovers.
Certainly this is below our expectations for Haliburton based on what he has established, having said that it was an off pace game for the whole team. We can also address that Haliburton is an issue defensively, we know this, nothing new here, though I do think he's been better on that end the past couple months, or at least presenting more effort. Regardless, yes, a ding to his game and something that undoubtedly has to get better.
I've noticed a small talking point appearing on here and on twitter, which is that Haliburton is being selfish. The facts really don't line up with this. 12 assists in 32 minutes is more than in line with Haliburton's season averages, and when you consider it against Indiana's pace yesterday, he's actually well above his season average in sharing the ball. Haliburton assisted on 29% of our made field goals yesterday. His A/TO ratio was 4, which is about where he's hovered since the ASB and for anyone but Tyrese Haliburton is an otherworldly number for a point guard that has the ball as much as he does.
So I'm going to take this another way, for a guy in a slump, a scorer in a slump, Tyrese Haliburton isn't being selfish enough.
Let's dig deeper.
In the 13 games since the all star break, Tyrese has led the team in FGA only 3 times, and they all happen to be wins, vs DET on 2/22, vs DAL on 2/25, and @ ORL on 3/10.
He's finished 2nd or tied for 2nd in FGA in 7 games, the Pacers are 3-4 in those games.
He's finished 3rd or below in FGA in 3 games, the Pacers are 1-2 in those games.
The Pacers need Tyrese to shoot more, why? Because he's not actually in a slump, he's just in a slump from 3.
Since the ASB, Tyrese is 58/93 on 2 PT FGs, a casual, cool, more than acceptable from a lead guard 62%. He's also blistering away at over 90% from the FT line during that time period.
So why is he so obsessed with the 3 point shot? And maybe more importantly, why haven't the Pacers discussed any of this with him? I'm not even against Tyrese shooting 3s to try and get his rhythm back, but what I am saying the team needs him to do that he is not doing, is look for his own shot more when he is FT line and in. He's passing out of these opportunities constantly, frequently his turnovers are coming from these situations, he has an opportunity to take a 2 and yet he tries to pass backwards to the perimeter, often times passing back into his own defender who he has already beaten. (This happened at least twice last night that I can remember).
During this same 13 game stretch, the Pacers as a team have shot 58% from 2. This makes Haliburton's efficiency in that area, even more impressive, the Pacers are one of (I believe might actually be the best 2 point shooting team in the league) and our best player still does better than that league best mark by a pretty decent percentage.
And yes I know the math, a 3 is worth more than a 2, but if you shoot 58% on 100 2 point attempts and 33% on 100 3 point attempts (think this is around where the team is from beyond the arc over the last month or so), you're gonna score 116 points on the 2 pt FGA and 99 points on the 3 pt FGA, you're also likely going to generate more free throws attempting the 2 pt FGs.
I know this is counter intuitive to the league as a whole, I know that basketball is played from behind the arc, but the facts are simple, the Pacers are elite at scoring inside of the arc, Haliburton is elite at scoring inside of the arc, and in a league where so many great scorers have made their living in that area, the Pacers need to get him to look to score more from inside the arc. The Pacers as a whole should consider this.
But more importantly Tyrese, you're not in a slump, you just think you are.
Comment