Tyrese Haliburton is not quite receiving the league-wide fan fare he was enjoying in his 2022-23 and 2023-24 All-Star campaigns, but that may soon change. The Indiana Pacers point guard has leveled up over the last month, doing everything in his power to keep his team in contention for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. It seems reasonable to attribute the surge to the added sense of urgency that one usually develops in the final stretch of the regular season, but perhaps there is another explanation for the red-hot run.
Hall of Famer Tim Hardaway Sr. named Haliburton as the player he would most want to embarrass if he were to play in the NBA today, due to the latter’s well-known trash-talking nature. Haliburton responded with a cryptic social media post. “Tell the world the real reason you feel this way, Tim,” he said.
It is still not confirmed what he was alluding to, but regardless of what sparked this unfriendly exchange, the 25-year-old has been playing arguably his best basketball of the season since Hardaway called him out. Following the initial Feb. 19 comments, which the 58-year-old made on Gilbert Arenas’ podcast (“Gil’s Arena”), Haliburton is posting 21.9 points, 11.9 assists, 2.6 steals per game and a sweltering 48.6 3-point shooting percentage. Those numbers are all significantly up from what he was previously averaging, per ClutchPoints.
Most importantly, though, the Pacers are 7-3 in that span. Bulletin board material has long been a powerful source of motivation for athletes– just ask Michael Jordan– and Hardaway might have given Haliburton the extra edge he was looking for before the playoffs begin.
Pacers need Tyrese Haliburton to stay in this mode
Pascal Siakam is enjoying another impressive season ( 20.9 points and 7.2 rebounds) and Indiana possesses an array of valuable role players, but the team will likely go as far as Tyrese Haliburton can lead it. His insane, game-winning four-point play versus the Milwaukee Bucks on March 11 shows he can handle the spotlight in clutch situations, and he must keep that competitive fire if the Pacers wish to return to the conference finals.
Tim Hardaway Sr, father of Detroit Pistons player Tim Hardaway Jr., might inadvertently be stoking those flames. Haliburton will try to maintain his form when Indy (38-29) hosts the Dallas Mavericks (33-36) on Wednesday.
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