Indiana Pacers beat the Detroit Pistons 122-103 Wednesday night in a game that wasn’t close after the first quarter. Indiana really stepped on the gas in the second half and pulled away from a hapless Pistons team that can’t seem to win. It was also an impressive game for Indiana’s superstar player.
Tyrese Haliburton has experienced great difficulties in recent months. He came out of it Wednesday night by scoring 20 points on 13/9 shooting. Surprisingly, he only had 9 assists, which is low for him. This could be because he only played 26 minutes in the blowout.
Haliburton, however, demonstrated his intelligence during this victory. In recent games, he has insisted on taking threes, settling for step-back threes that are difficult for anyone to hit. Against the Pistons, he attempted just three three-pointers, draining one.
Instead of relying on a jump shot that has been largely broken down in recent months, Haliburton has been going to the hoop much more often. Due to his length, it is extremely difficult for opponents to block his shots when he approaches the rim and he uses clever angles to place the ball in the hoop.
Haliburton is a much more dangerous player when he has the confidence to drive the ball to the rim. I don’t know why he hasn’t done more in recent months. Maybe he was still nursing his hamstring. Maybe the coaches finally told him this is what he needs to do to be effective right now.
Regardless, Haliburton showed his basketball IQ by not settling for jump shots against a bad Detroit team. He also started driving a little more to the left and even landed a left driving hook. If he starts doing this, defenses are in trouble because they shadow him to his right.
This could be the kind of play that could completely snap Haliburton out of its shooting slump. Maybe the Pacers star has finally found his confidence.
