Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton takes step back in Team USA loss to Germany

Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton and Team USA lose to Germany: First Half

Steve Kerr waited a bit to get Tyrese Haliburton in against Germany, as he got his first minutes of action with 3:30 left in the first quarter, throwing an assist to Paolo Banchero about 30 seconds later. Haliburton got his second assist not long after, diming up Austin Reaves for a three-pointer.

The Indiana Pacers guard was also quite aggressive in the first quarter, getting two quick fouls early and having to sit out the final 18 seconds of the period. He only logged about three minutes.

Haliburton sat out for a while in the second quarter, too, with Kerr possibly trying to manage his minutes due to his quick fouls. He was subbed in with 3:25 left to play in the half, dishing out his third assist of the game a few seconds later, hitting Mikal Bridges for the three-pointer.

He also blocked a shot, adding to his impressive block total in the World Cup. Haliburton proceeded to take it coast-to-coast, hitting a pull-up three on the other end, turning defense into offense yet again, and putting Team USA up one at the half.

Based on these stats and this early production, you would think Kerr thought to keep Haliburton in for longer as he did earlier against Montenegro, playing the entire fourth quarter. But that’s not exactly how things played out.