Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was more than the typical star in the middle of 2023-2024, he was a early season MVP candidate.
Thirty-two games into the season, Haliburton is averaging 24.2 points, 12.7 assists and 1.9 actions per game, shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from 3. The Pacers were 17-15, a big improvement from the previous season, when they finished 35-47.
Interestingly, after 32 games into the 2022-23 season, the Pacers were 16-16. The wheels started to fall off once Haliburton suffered elbow and knee injuries, with Indiana going 1-9 without Haliburton. However, Haliburton missed 26 games in 2022-23 due to a myriad of illnesses. The Pacers were 7-19 in those games overall, making Haliburton the difference between a lottery team and a middling team.
Rick Carlisle reveals the reason behind Tyrese Haliburton’s meltdown
That doesn’t appear to be the case this season, as the Pacers are 7-6 without Haliburton, largely due to the successful acquisition of the All-Star forward Pascal Siakam. Yet they are 13-12 with Haliburton since his return, failing to take the expected next step.
The Pacers are still 40-32 this season. As a result, they are likely playoff bound. Still, having two All-Stars instead of one should theoretically lead to better results. This has not been the case in Indiana and the reason is very simple.
Haliburton plays like a shell of himself.
In the 26 matches he has played since returning from his hamstring injury, he averages 16.2 points, 9.6 assists and 1.9 actions per game, with a success rate of 44.8% from the field and 29.5% from 3. This is what last figure which is particularly worrying. Players generally don’t have a seizure during the last half of the season.
This may be because the two-time All-Star is still healing from his hamstring injury. According to Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, Haliburton is not yet fully healthy. even if he progresses.
“He’s making steady progress,” Carlisle said, according to Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “It may not be huge progress, but he’s making progress. Big difference now between the way he moves and the way he moved two or three weeks ago.
Haliburton doesn’t exactly act cautiously on the field. However, the transfer of energy from the lower to the upper body, necessary to be an elite 3-point threat, is affected by lower leg injuries. The importance hamstring muscles (there are three) is their role in hip extension, knee flexion and absorption of kinetic energy while walking, running or jumping.
It’s not just his sweater
Haliburton’s effectiveness from beyond the arc isn’t the only part of his game that has suffered.
He also saw a drop of -3.1 points (58.3 to 55.2) in his success percentage on drives. Although not as pronounced as the impact on his 3s, Haliburton’s reduced impact inside and outside the 3-point line prevents the Pacers from reaching their full potential.
