Why Steph vs. Haliburton is a matchup to look at in Warriors-Pacers initially appeared on NBC Sports activities Bay Space
When Tyrese Haliburton leads the Indiana Pacers into Chase Middle on Monday, he’ll face the Warriors and the purpose guard he as soon as hoped could be his NBA mentor.
That will be Stephen Curry, two-time MVP.
As Haliburton ready for the 2020 NBA Draft, the Iowa State star expressed his pleasure over being chosen by the Warriors and serving as Curry’s understudy.
“Steph being the most effective level guards in basketball and possibly the very best shooter of all time, it might be nice for me to be taught from him and choose his mind,” Haliburton informed NBC. Sports activities Bay Space throughout a preliminary convention name. “After which take that problem in follow as nicely, as a result of if I can keep in entrance of Steph and guard, I really feel like I might most likely guard anyone.”
The Warriors, holding the second general choose, chosen heart James Wiseman (who’s now an inactive member of the Pacers). Haliburton went twelfth general to the Sacramento Kings, who traded him to the Pacers in his second season.
It did not take lengthy for Haliburton to show he was prepared. He began 51 video games for the Kings that season and instantly grew to become Indiana’s start line guard. Inside a yr, he established himself as a workforce chief and made his first look within the All-Star Sport.
After a sluggish begin to the season, Haliburton, 24, has discovered his rhythm. Over his final 12 video games, he has averaged 20.7 factors on 49.7% taking pictures from the sphere, together with 41.7% from distance, and eight.8 assists. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.33 ranks fourth within the league.
Curry, 36, averages 22.4 factors per sport on 44.5 p.c taking pictures, together with 41.1 p.c from past the arc. He has simply achieved an distinctive efficiency in a 113-103 street victory in opposition to the Minnesota Timberwolves final Saturday, scoring 31 factors, together with 13 in lower than three minutes straight.
The matchup between potential mentor and potential mentee will seemingly dictate the path of the offenses and the sport. Curry sees each sport as a chance to show he nonetheless has it, whereas Haliburton continues to make his case as the very best teenager NBA level guard.
Curry and Haliburton have solely been teammates as soon as, as members of the US’ gold medal-winning workforce on the 2024 Paris Olympics. Whereas Curry was the star in the course of the medal spherical , Haliburton largely watched.
As teammates, Haliburton would have been OK with this 4 years in the past. Not now.
