The star of the Indiana Pacers will be playing in the Olympics this year. He was chosen to be one of the 12 players to make the team. He played on Team USA last year in the World Cup that didn't even make the Gold Medal game. This year's team is much better.
Haliburton's inclusion was surprising to some. Some in the media thought that spot deserved to go to Jalen Brunson instead. Haliburton was the guy who was brought in. It ended up being a moot point when Brunson broke his hand against Indiana, but Haliburton still has a chip on his shoulder.
Looking at the lineup that the Americans have, Haliburton likely won't start. Despite being an All-NBA player, he'll come off the bench. Still, he is going to get playing time because of his great passing. He can use this experience this summer to help improve the Pacers as a team too.
Tyrese Haliburton can use his Team USA experience to improve the Pacers
Haliburton has one big thing that he has to work on this offseason and that's defense. It was really bad in the playoffs and teams were hunting him. The Pacers as a whole need to improve defensively. He needs to get a bit stronger and get himself in better position.
Part of that was because he was never truly healthy all year. Once he hurt his hamstring in January, he was never quite the same. He hurt it again in Game 2 against Boston and missed the rest of the series. But this summer in Paris could be a great way for him to improve.
Haliburton can improve the Pacers by learning how to play with some of the best players in the world and putting them in a good spot to succeed. Pascal Siakam is a star player and Indiana is going to try to get another star. It'll be good for him to play on a team with the best players possible.
It'll be interesting to see how Team USA does in the Olympics. Will they avenge their loss in the World Cup?