The Pacers gave Tyrese Haliburton a supermax contract before this season started. They did so because they believed that their point guard is the future of the franchise. Everyone in the front office thinks that he can be the best player on a championship team.
It's hard to argue with their thinking. Since he's been with the Pacers, he's been magnificent. He just made Third-team All-NBA after leading the NBA in assists with 10.9. He also scored 20.1 points per game on 47.7% shooting. Haliburton did all of this despite hurting his hamstring early in the season.
Haliburton's presence is why the Pacers decided to go get a player like Pascal Siakam in a trade. They think that Siakam is going to want to re-sign in Indiana and play with Haliburton. He's not just a great offensive player, he's attracting other great players too. Still, he has one big flaw in his game.
The Pacers need Tyrese Haliburton to get better on defense
The biggest flaw in Haliburton's game is his defense. He's just not strong enough to keep opposing players from getting to the rim at will. The Celtics hunted him over and over again in the Eastern Conference Finals. He can't let himself be a hunted defender.
Haliburton's defense isn't all bad. His length allows him to get some blocks when he is able to stay with his man. It also allows him to pick off passes. His IQ is high enough to allow him to make some good defensive plays, just not on a consistent enough basis.
One of the things going against Haliburton is how skinny he is. He's never going to bulk up and look like LeBron James out there, but he needs to get a bit stronger. He has a body type that is similar to Kevin Durant. Durant put in the work to make sure that he can't get handled as easily on defense, and Haliburton needs to do the same.
If Haliburton improves to be just an average defender, the Pacers become a much more viable NBA title contender. That's how potent his offense is. That's something that I know he's going to be working on this offseason.