3 negatives and 1 positive from Indiana's game 1 loss to Milwaukee

Negative: Tyrese Haliburton's passiveness

Ever since the injury against Boston, Tyrese Haliburton has struggled with his aggressiveness. For some context, in the 32 games before Haliburton's injury, he averaged around 17 shot attempts a game, scoring 24 points per game. In the 35 games he played after recovering, he only took 13.6 shots per game and his average dropped down to 16.8 per game.

While the injury took an obvious physical toll on his game, with his three-point shot taking a drastic hit, by far the biggest toll it took was mental. After the injury, Haliburton seemed to lose all confidence in his shot and became far more passive, to the point where it was actively hurting the team and Indiana lost a few games because of his lack of shooting confidence.

Against Milwaukee, people thought it would be different. In the five games Haliburton played against Milwaukee in the regular season, he attempted close to 19 shots per game and shot an impressive 53.2%, good for 27 points per game. In the playoffs, many thought Haliburton would turn the switch on and ditch the passiveness. Up until that point, many thought his late-season lack of aggression was due to caution as to not re-injure himself before the playoffs.

Somehow, Haliburton hit a new low in game 1, taking just seven shots on the night, the fifth-most on the team and less than Aaron Nesmith and TJ McConnell. This game was perhaps the most frustrating to watch from Haliburton this season, as he was doing a decent job getting to the basket, but almost always opted to dish it back out for a three or ditch an open jumper for a jump pass to a shooter, some of whom weren't even open.

In the regular season, plenty of Pacers fans were willing to give Haliburton the benefit of the doubt, especially near the end. With the playoffs rapidly approaching, it made sense for Haliburton to be more passive to avoid further injury to his hamstring. Unfortunately, what didn't make sense was for him to be passive in the playoffs as well, as Indiana is finally in a competitive place and needs his scoring ability.

What's most frustrating about Haliburton's seven shots was, he made four of them. The few times during the game when Haliburton was aggressive paid off rather well, as he got to the basket rather easily and even hit a three-pointer at one point. Unfortunately, a combination of first-game playoff jitters and past passiveness issues led to those shot attempts being few and far between.

If Indiana wants even a remote chance of winning this series, Haliburton has to step it up going forward. Despite Siakam taking over recently, Haliburton is still the engine of this offense and the team goes as far as he can take them. It doesn't help that he didn't get to share too much time with Siakam on the court, especially in the second half, which leads me to my next point.