What’s Going On With Tyrese Haliburton?
Source: Mark Blinch / Getty
The start of the 2024 NBA season hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for the Indiana Pacers.
The team sits at 6-8 after a confounding loss to the now 3-12 Toronto Raptors on the road. They’ve had moments where you can see the team that made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals, like wins over the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks at home, but as is the case with the loss in Toronto, they have just as many moments of concern. Injuries have played a factor, there’s no denying that, but it’s still not the start the team or it’s fans were hoping for.
Most worrying, however, is the performance of Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who has not looked like himself this season.
At this moment, Haliburton is shooting around 38% from the field, and 28% from beyond the arc, both significantly worse than his career averages. He also has been noticeably more passive, attacking the rim less and seeing his assist numbers drop from where they were last year. Haliburton is the Pacers star attraction; they signed him to a max contract extension worth $260 million for five years before the 2023 season. Right now, he is not playing up to that contract.
So what’s going on with Haliburton? Could he be dealing with some lingering effects from his hamstring issues in last year’s playoffs? Or perhaps, as Kevin O’Conner reported a few weeks ago, Haliburton is dealing with problems with his back?
During the Tuesday edition of The Ride With JMV, Jeremiah Johnson from Pacers Television joined the show, and spoke about the possibility of Haliburton being less than 100%.
“He’ll never acknowledge any kind of injury issues, and those are the kind of things that you don’t really, and understandably so, you don’t get a full answer until maybe after a season ends, but I do see him with the back heat pack on during games, so I don’t know if that’s something. The home-road splits are also something that have been pointed out by people covering the team that are something to be concerned with, but I don’t have answer. I wish I did, and I do know, and this is painfully obvious and you don’t need me to tell you this, that this team will probably go as far as Tyrese Haliburton will take them. The best part of it is, they’re still early in the season. There’s a long way to go, and if you look at the Eastern Conference, you’re basically a good week away from being 3rd or 4th. So, while it is concerning, I’m not yet in the position right now to hit the panic button, and I do think when they get some of these guys back to help out, maybe everything else can come together.”
Listen to JMV’s full conversation with Jeremiah Johnson and more down below, and tune into The Ride With JMV weekdays from 3-6pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan!
