After their Game 5 victory on Tuesday night, the Indiana Pacers have officially eliminated the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers and made their second straight conference finals appearance. While it was a team effort for Indiana, a lot of their success against Cleveland (especially in Game 5) is because of Tyrese Haliburton, who continues to make the rest of the league look foolish.
Last month, in an anonymous NBA player poll, Haliburton was voted the most overrated player in the league by his peers. This was a wild take that many fans around the NBA disagreed with. Fortunately for the Pacers, this has not taken a hit on Haliburton's performance as he has played well since then en route to another conference finals appearance.
While the Pacers are still awaiting on the official results of the other playoff matchup in the Eastern Conference, all signs are pointing to another postseason matchup with the New York Knicks. With a trip to the NBA Finals in their reach, the Pacers will keep relying on Haliburton and company to get the job done. Regardless, after sending the top team in the East home in just five games, Haliburton has proven to the league once again that the overrated claims mean nothing.
Tyrese Haliburton was crucial in closing the Cavaliers series out
The Wisconsin native had a good series against the Cavaliers that culminated in a fantastic performance in Game 5. In the victory, Haliburton scored 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting, including 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. Additionally, he recorded eight assists, six rebounds, one steal, and a block. Despite committing four turnovers, Haliburton was crucial in the Pacers' series-clinching victory and played his best game of the postseason so far.
Haliburton is far from overrated, and nothing will change how important he is to the Pacers' dreams of winning a championship this year. He is one of the best playmakers the league has today, and he is the perfect fit in Rick Carlisle's offensive system. The Pacers have one of the best offensive units in the NBA, and a lot of that has to do with Haliburton's efficiency and ability to push the tempo. Furthermore, while he is no Andrew Nembhard, Haliburton has improved on the defensive end and is constantly getting better each season.
The Pacers are just four wins away from their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000. For some context, Haliburton was just a few months old at the time. The Pacers are in the conference finals for the second straight year. While the rest of the team played a big role in this as well, make no mistake about it, the Pacers' success rides on Haliburton. And so far, he has shown nothing to suggest the team needs to change their way of thinking in hopes of bringing an NBA Championship to Indiana.