Tyrese Haliburton is about to leave his morals behind and elevate to the next level of superstar in the NBA. Ethics are a thing of the past, and when Hali returns he will personify everything that everyone hates abot the NBA.
Okay, sorry, that's dramatic. Tyrese Haliburton is a genuinely good person and I don't think he's going to become a villain in the NBA. He might, however, spend more time at the free-throw line, which, if you ask a large swath of NBA fans, is the most immoral thing you can do. In a recent appearance on Mind The Game with LeBron James, the Pacers' star talked about how he plans to focus on drawing contact when he returns to the court, shouting out Celtics guard Payton Pritchard and Lakers guard Austin Reaves:
"I was watching him [Pritchard] the other day, and just, the way that he gets to guys bodies at the rim, that's really something that I'm trying to focus on through my rehab.... Just being more physical.... For me to be more physical at the rim, to get more free throws, I think that's important... I think AR is a perfect example, the way that he is so physical and can get to the free throw line..."
Haliburton also told a story about a time when Reaves was honest about Hali's ability (or inability) to get to the free-throw line and how it made him really study Reaves' game and the specific moves he uses to get an advantage on defenders and get free throws out of it. It may be irritating for opponents, but it's massively effective.
Tyrese Haliburton is taking a page out of Austin Reaves' playbook
And it makes sense. Haliburton, for all his strengths, has never been a guy who gets to the line often. In his career, he's averaged just 2.7 free throw attempts per game, and never more than 3.6 per game. It's never been his game to get to the line; it hasn't made him less effective, but focusing on drawing contact can only help going forward.
By contrast, Reaves averaged 5 free throw attempts per game last year, and is at 8.6 per game this year (through 23 games). That's a pretty stark difference — if Haliburton was doing that, his already-impressive efficiency would skyrocket. That's the kind of thing that would take him from a borderline All-NBA player to an MVP candidate.
When Tyrese Haliburton returns to the court, I don't think fans will be itching for him to take a bunch of contact immedaitely. But long-term, this change would pay dividends for the Pacers' star.