Pacers’ Haliburton showed he is the world’s greatest passer in latest FIBA

Ladies and gentlemen, the 2023 FIBA World Cup is upon us!

After five exhibition games and a solid six days of rest, Tyrese Haliburton and Team USA are finally back in action, and this time it really counts, because after playing five exhibition games to feel each other out and get used to playing with each other, the FIBA World Cup has officially started for real and their first obstacle is New Zealand in a group stage game. Fortunately for Team USA, this is a shorthanded New Zealand team, as Steven Adams is still out due to a knee injury, thus leaving New Zealand with zero NBA players on the roster. At the same time, Team USA is of course a team with multiple All-Stars across the board. This resulted in Team USA getting a -35.5 spread on paper, and not many expected this game to go down to the wire. New Zealand’s roster is definitely not short of scoring, however, a team beating this USA team is probably not going to do it by going shot for shot with them, as the USA team is comically loaded with scorers, especially in the starting lineup. Rather, as we saw against Germany, it would be with good defense and steady offense.

For Tyrese Haliburton, this game was also special. After averaging a respectable 8.4 points and 7.4 assists in the five exhibition games (all wins), Haliburton was looking to further prove himself to Steve Kerr and the rest of the USA coaching staff that he belongs in the starting lineup for the World Cup games, as the offense immediately saw a change in pace and efficiency as soon as he stepped on the court.

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Unfortunately, if you were looking for a lineup change, it would not be in the first game, as Steve Kerr stuck with the same old lineup from the exhibition games to start off against New Zealand, with Haliburton on the bench and a real lack of playmaking on the court to start off the game.

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This was quite puzzling to me, as Team USA clearly had something with Haliburton, Reaves, and Banchero on the court and the chemistry those guys brought to the table was undeniable. However, Steve Kerr must not have thought enough to start one of them, as the same old lineup would be brought out to kick off tournament play. I wasn’t the only one surprised, as Haliburt

That being said, how did Tyrese Haliburton fare in his first official game of FIBA tournament play?

Well, we shall see, and we shall also see if Steve Kerr sticking to his gut and keeping No. 4 off the bench was a smart move or a move that would come back to bite him later on.

Tyrese vs. New Zealand: First Half

Steve Kerr would not waste any time getting Haliburton his first real World Cup minutes, subbing him in with 4:09 remaining in the first half.This would be a much-needed substitution, as Team USA was trailing 5-14 before this change and the starting backcourt of Brunson and Edwards just wasn’t getting it done yet. Haliburton would make his presence felt in the first quarter, getting a steal, and scoring his first points off a tip in about a minute and a half later. He would also grab another rebound and throw an assist to Austin Reaves before the quarter finished.

After being quiet for the first 4 minutes, Haliburton would once again get himself on the court with a 3-pointer, assisted by Anthony Edwards before subbing out about 20 seconds later. Despite only playing about 7 minutes in the first half, and scoring 5 points and dishing out 1 assist, Haliburton’s presence was also felt on the box score, as he had a +/- of +13 and would have easily thrown a few more assists if his teammates weren’t whiffing open three opportunities.

Tyrese vs. New Zealand: Second Half

Haliburton would sit on the bench for quite a bit of time, before getting subbed in with 4:24 left in the third quarter and making his first contributions about 2 minutes later with a layup, increasing his point total to 7 for the game. After not doing much for the rest of the quarter, Haliburton would commit the play of the night for himself, throwing a beautiful no-look pass to Bobby Portis for a layup, which had the commentators and the internet going bezerk.

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Following this, Haliburton would throw another assist, this time to Jaren Jackson Jr., and get a block, further showing off his improved defensive ability. Haliburton would add to his impressive offense performance by draining a 3-pointer from the logo, which would increase USA’s lead to 20, and would also be his final offensive stat of the night, as Tyrese Haliburton and Team USA capped off their first World Cup game with ease.

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Haliburton’s Final Stats and Takeaways

At the end of the day, Tyrese Haliburton had quite an impressive game coming off the bench. In 17:06 of playing time, down from his 21-ish minutes per game from the exhibitions, Haliburton recorded 10 points (4/5 FG, 2/3 3PT), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, and 1 foul as Team USA earned a 99-72 win over a New Zealand team that was threatening a bit of a scare in the first half.

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Once again, Team USA’s offense just looked way more fluid and productive with Haliburton on the floor, with his +/- of +13 being a key indicator of that. This game in particular was one to write home about, as many were surprised with the hesitation of Steve Kerr to play Haliburton big minutes despite the results evidently being there.

Steve Kerr’s downright refusal to tweak the starting lineup has been something of note in the exhibition games and now in this first game against New Zealand as the current starting 5 of Brunson, Edwards, Bridges, Ingram, and Jackson has been called out for being too iso-heavy and not having enough playmaking. Many have suggested starting Haliburton in place of Brunson, or even starting Haliburton over Brunson altogether, as the production on the floor takes a sharp spike with Haliburton on the floor, as shown by the box score against New Zealand, with Austin Reaves being a favorite teammate of his, as the two have put up magic together in their time sharing the court in a Team USA uniform.

As a matter of fact, the bench trio of Paolo Banchero, Austin Reaves, and Tyrese Haliburton worked wonders for Team USA in the first game, with all 3 of them showcasing great shot-making ability on fantastic efficiency.

However, this does not mean you can expect all, or even any of them to make the leap to the starting lineup, as Kerr more than likely has his starters set in stone and will not let anything change that, for whatever reason.

Despite this stubbornness by Team USA’s coach, this has not stopped Haliburton from building up some great chemistry with teammates such as Anthony Edwards, Cam Johnson, and Austin Reaves, with his excited reaction to Reaves’ dunk at the end of the final exhibition game against Germany becoming something of a viral clip over the past few days.

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Expect this to be a running theme through USA’s run in the World Cup, where the starters produce mixed results to start off the game, which leads to the reserves leading a great run in the second half, righting the ship for the red, white, and blue.

As a matter of fact, Haliburton’s arrival was so important, that New Zealand’s coach even emphasized his checking into the game during his team’s huddle in the first quarter, signaling them to watch out for his passing ability.

With this being the case, it is truly a mystery as to why Haliburton is still coming off the bench, as any wise man would see the change in production he leads for his teammates and look to start him over one of the more iso-heavy players.

For now, Tyrese can rejoice in the fact that his abilities are not going unnoticed, as he has become somewhat of a social media darling in the past couple of weeks due to his flashy passes, frantic style of play, and likable personality off the court.

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One can only hope this leads to increased minutes on the court, as Team USA sure needs any production they can get out there, as they were struggling against a Steven Adams-less New Zealand team for a good chunk of the first half until the second unit got in there and cleaned things up, led by Haliburton and Banchero.

Team USA’s next game is on Monday against Greece in a rematch of one of the exhibition games, and one can only hope Steve Kerr recognizes Haliburton’s contributions and gives him some more run.

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