Lakers gear up for Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton in tournament final

Tyrese Haliburton, point guard for the Indiana Pacers, is a “jewel” that the Los Angeles Lakers will have to battle with if they hope to win the NBA’s first-ever in-season tournament title on Saturday.

He has sly athletics. In response to a question regarding Tyrese Haliburton on Friday before the championship game, Lakers coach Darvin Ham commented, “He has length to him, and his vision is incredible.” “I mean, the things he’s able to do with the basketball, the way he sets up his teammates, looks off defenders, the way he pushes the pace in transition, he’s constantly in attack mode.”

“I think they’ve got a jewel, man,” continued Ham.

In Indiana’s 128-119 semifinal victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, Tyrese Haliburton had a standout performance, finishing with 27 points, 15 assists, and no turnovers. Haliburton, who leads the NBA in assists per game, scored at least 25 points and made at least 15 assists without committing a turnover for the third time this season. Throughout his career, no other player has recorded more than one such game since turnovers were first recorded in 1977–1978.

Austin Reaves of the Lakers, who played with Tyrese Haliburton on Team USA at the FIBA World Cup in the Philippines this summer, said of Haliburton, He makes life easy for you as a teammate. It’s just the speed at which he plays and his readiness to play with such selflessness. Most of the time, he makes the correct play. He doesn’t actually drop the ball. You feel confident because of him.

He wants you to shoot the ball whenever he swings it and you’re open. He wants you to succeed as well, so it’s not more so shoot it to help me out.

This month, Tyrese Haliburton will be 24. With Indiana in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, he leads the NBA in scoring with 128.4 points per game from his explosive attack. Currently leading the Pacers with an average of 26.9 points per game—a career-best—Haliburton is one of eight players to score in double figures. He shoots 52.5% from the field and 44.1% from 3-point range.

Reaves stated It goes without saying that their play pace is unmatched.” Because of their shooting and playmaking skills, they are able to score a lot of points and go on rapid runs. The ability to transition or not—to be honest, they kind of make everything transition; even when you score a shot, they quickly clear the net.

The Lakers allow opponents to score 15.3 fast-break points per game, which puts them in 25th place. Indiana is in second place with 17.2 fast-break points scored per game.

Tyrese Haliburton, who was selected for the All-Star Game in the previous season, has his squad ready to make a playoff return for the first time since 2020. this following his trade to Indiana during his sophomore season and 2020 draft selection by the Sacramento Kings with the No. 12 pick.

Another lottery pick who was traded early in his career, Lakers player D’Angelo Russell, said of Haliburton, “I think that just goes to show where you get drafted matters.” Systems are important. He couldn’t accomplish that when he was drafted, so moving to a new place helped him and gave him the opportunity to develop into the person he is now. I love systems, and it matters where you’re drafted.

The Lakers and Pacers have prepared for an exciting championship game on Saturday by treating the in-season tournament as though it were important to their clubs.

“We’ve just got to be ready for a little bit of everything, but we can’t get so caught up in trying to stop and prevent them from doing what they like to do,” Ham stated. We shall, but we must also remember to impose our will on the game. They must also watch out for us.

Credits: ESPN

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