The basketball world is buzzing after the acquisition of Tyrese Haliburton by the Indiana Pacers from the Sacramento Kings. As it should be, by the way.
Haliburton is a huge piece to the future puzzle that Kevin Pritchard and the Pacers will construct. You just picked up your franchise point guard. Sorry, Malcolm Brogdon.
As the trade deadline looms, what Indiana does the rest of the way will be interesting. But the position that the front office has put themselves in is like drinking your first piña colada on the beach when you go on vacation.
Refreshing.
As great as Haliburton is, the rest of what was included in the trade for Domatas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, and Justin Holiday is just as intriguing. Will Tristan Thompson ever play a game in the 317? I’m going to go with doubtful.
Here’s what I do know. Buddy Hield is just as exciting as a piece to acquire as Haliburton.
Now before you come running at me with pitchforks ready to disagree, let me explain.
Holiday did a fine job in Indiana as a mainly three-point specialist. But the main problem with him on the floor in more than a sixth-man role is that he couldn’t defend for a full 48 minutes, wasn’t consistent enough on the floor to play as a starter, and was way too streaky from deep.
Hield is aging, but he’s three years younger than Holiday. Most of all, if Rick Carlisle needs Hield as a sixth man, that works great. If Carlisle needs him to start, you feel more than comfortable with him not only scoring in that role, but also defending.
I’ve always been a Hield fan. He plays his ass off. There’s one more major difference that you will see from Hield to Holiday; Consistency.
To be fair, Holiday is statistically shooting better than Hield percentage-wise from beyond-the-arc this year. Holiday’s 37.8 percent narrowly outweighs Hield’s 36.8 percent. A lot of that comes from the barrage of long shots that Hield takes every game.
Both Hield and Holiday have played right around 50 games this year. In 34 of those games, Hield has nailed more than three triples. Holiday has flushed three or more in just 23 games played.
Hield will play a big role for this team both now and in the future, as it sounds like the Pacers want to keep him around.
And. Here. We. Go.
