3. Tyrese Haliburton
It's something we've been talking about for a while now. Tyrese Haliburton just isn't the same player he was before the hamstring injury. His efficiency is down, his defense is worse, and the team results have followed. The Pacers are up-and-down with Haliburton's yo-yo play.
While Haliburton is finally starting to go to the rim more often to score some points, his outside scoring is abysmal. For whatever reason, he's lost the ability to shoot. Since the All-Star break, he's shooting just 21% from deep on 7.6 attempts per game. He's almost shooting the Pacers out of games.
When Haliburton has the threat of the three-point shot, including the deep threes he used to hit, this team is incredibly dangerous. When he hits those shots, it opens up more drive-and-kick opportunities for open shooters around him. It also opens up more layup opportunities for himself.
At least his assist numbers are back up to normal. He's had 11+ assists in four of his last five games. Still, his scoring is trending in the wrong direction at the wrong time of year. His scoring average has gone down every month and now it's down to just 15 points per game in the month of March.
The Pacers need their best player to play like their best player. They can still win some games with everyone chipping in and having some balanced scoring. Yet, the team won't reach their potential unless Haliburton gets his shot back. That's the single most important thing the Pacers need.