Pacer’s Haliburton draws ‘super duper’ praise despite mediocre FIBA game

Haliburton’s Final Stats and Takeaways

This was definitely Tyrese Haliburton’s quietest game of the 4 he has played so far for Team USA. In a total of 19 minutes, his lowest so far, Haliburton logged 6 points (2/4 FG, 1/3 3PT, 1/1 FT), 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 fours, and a surprising 4 turnovers as Team USA cruised to their fourth straight victory, beating Greece 108-86 behind 21 points from Anthony Edwards.

Now, I wouldn’t say that this game is anything to worry about, as for one, it is still an exhibition game and does not dictate how Tyrese’s tournament play will go, and two, Tyrese was barely getting the ball, even being spotted frantically calling for it on a certain play and being completely ignored.

https://twitter.com/TheBoxAndOne_/status/1692584296878416313

This has been the norm so far in the tournament, with Tyrese’s 8.3 points per game being surprisingly low considering the expectations on him and the scoring breakout he has had ever since landing in Indiana. However, this is to be expected, considering that he is sharing the floor with plenty of talented scorers in their own right on Team USA.

Tyrese was also whiffing on open shots, especially threes, as he did go 1/3 on the night.

The 4-assist total is also quite surprising considering the fact that Haliburton was averaging 10 assists coming into the game on Friday and had two 12-assist performances, one in the first exhibition game and another in the previous game vs Spain. This relatively low assist performance would drag down Tyrese’s assist average in the exhibition games, from 10.0 to 8.5. Still impressive, but not reaching double figures like the previous number.

However, it is not deniable how valuable Tyrese is whenever he steps on the floor, as the fans have also noted that the pace quickens and more opportunities are created with him running the offense and setting things up and Tyrese has also found his preferred targets to get the ball to, namely Cam Johnson.

Only time will dictate how Haliburton’s scoring comes along and if he can keep up his passing. If anything, at least his 2 steals, and 1 block are a good indication of his defense nicely progressing. Hopefully, as time goes on and Team USA comes up with a set gameplan for the tournament starting soon, Steve Kerr, Tyronn Lue, and Erik Spoelstra will recognize Haliburton’s contributions in the limited playing time he gets and perhaps run more plays on him. For now, his performance has been up and down, but it is without question that he is helping Team USA’s bottom line so far.

5 most difficult challenges on the Indiana Pacers schedule

While the Indiana Pacers schedule isn't awful, there are a few places where it will be particularly challenging for the team.