When the Indiana Pacers opened up the regular season against the New Orleans Pelicans, they did so on the back of an impressive preseason stretch from the newly returned Tyrese Haliburton. However, no one really could have predicted how good it could have gone.
Without a starter and their best bench player on an already thin roster, the Pacers were forced to play a rotation that they may not have loved. Maybe this is why Indiana lost the second quarter 35 to 18 despite facing a team that most expect to be at the bottom of their conference.
However, if the first half was a scary sight of how things could go, the second half was a tantalizing reminder of the way things could end up. The Pacers outscored the Pelicans by four in the third quarter and then nine in the fourth to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in their first game of the new season.
And it was Haliburton doing the heroics, driving to create the final and-one floater that would push the Pacers to their final score of 123-120.
This is wonderful to see an oh-so-deserved moment for a player who put it all on the line for Indiana on the biggest stage. Now, all that's left to wonder is if the Pacers can make it back to the promised land.
The time to be hyped is now
Halliburton was instrumental in the second-half comeback, scoring 23 points and dishing out 12 assists in his first regular-season game in over 400 days. Still, more of the focus should be on Pascal Siakam, who turned in a 30-point performance on a team-high 35 minutes.
It's this pairing between Haliburton and Siakam that is at the center of what the Pacers do best. They trust each other, and they move constantly.
The Pelicans, on the other hand, are a team of shot creators and miscast role players fighting to keep their careers in the NBA. It is exactly for this reason that it's worrying that the Pacers' bench minutes were overwhelmingly negative against the New Orleans bench.
That may be the only Achilles' heel for this team. Their stars are in shape and ready to go; their wings have depth they haven't had in years; and their franchise superstar – the engine of this entire absurdly efficient offensive juggernaut – is finally back in the fold.
This team has so many strengths and is ready to leave that gap year in the rearview mirror.
It's nice that Tyrese was the one to floor the gas pedal after everything he has been through.
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