Pacers need more from Tyrese Haliburton in Game 3, however
INDIANAPOLIS– Indiana had a hard time to score in the first half of Game 2 against the swarming Oklahoma City defense, setting up just 41 points on 34.9% shooting, consisting of shooting just 46.2% in the paint. The problems began with their all-everything point guard, Tyrese Haliburton, who shot simply 2-of-7 through 3 quarters, with not one of those efforts can be found in the paint.That’s occurred
to the Pacers a handful of times this season and in the playoffs– most especially Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals versus the Knicks, when he had 8 points on 2-of-7 shooting for the game. In the face of intense protective pressure, Haliburton defers to teammates– if the defense is loading up on him, somebody else needs to be open. His instinct is to find that open man.As fans, we have been conditioned to expect our stars to attack in the face of that pressure– individuals desire Haliburton to go Kobe and start shooting over triple-teams. People want him to be like Mike. Be selfish and pull his partner with him.That’s not how Haliburton is wired. That’s not the Pacers’ formula.That’s Indiana’s predicament for Video game 3 and the rest of the series: The Pacers need more Haliburton, but it can’t be just scoring. He’s not going to go out and boost 25 shots Wednesday night in Game 3– he hasn’t taken more than 23 in any game this season. Indiana thrives when Haliburton is setting the table and everyone is eating, however he’s got to consume more, too.
Thunder pressure defense
Haliburton’s difficulty begins with the issue 28 other teams have faced this season: Oklahoma City’s physical, high-pressure defense.
Thunder defense has done a truly good task in the first half. Active, ball pressure, physical off ball to disrupt movement and switching. Notice on the handoff to Haliburton, Holmgren remains in a drop however Lu Dort is * parked * at the nail to help. Windows vanish quick vs. OKC. pic.twitter.com/2jT58o7nN9!.?.!— Steve Jones Jr.(@stevejones20)June 6, 2025 “They got more guys than a lot of groups in the NBA that are high
level at the point of attack,”Haliburton stated. “They’re actually connected on the protective end. I feel like they blend coverages. I believe coach [Mark] Daigneault isn’t scared to do things on the fly. He doesn’t do everything that’s like really standard …”I think the most significant thing is simply workers. Their personnel is different than everywhere else.”” We’ve got guys that are hard to evaluate either since of strength or speed or both,” Daigneault said.”
[ Lu] Dort enters your mind. [Alex] Caruso enters your mind. [Jalen Williams] enters your mind. Cason Wallace, for sure. They’re excellent pursue guys. Having guys at the rim is useful [Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein] You can’t spring downhill and assume there’s something good there for you. Hopefully, the aid is preventing that to a degree.”Haliburton and other Pacers pointed out leaning into seeing the film of Game 2(and the very first half of Video game
1), seeing what didn’t work, and what worked much better in the 4th quarter of Video game 2(when Haliburton scored 12 points and looked more like himself, however it was insufficient to late ).”The answers constantly lie in the movie,”Haliburton said.Pacers mixing it up When going over the Thunder defense, Haliburton employed phrasing usually reserved for explaining how to decrease an elite offensive player. “You can’t provide these guys the same dose, the very same look of anything,”Haliburton said. “If you try to run high pick-and-roll all game, they simply crawl into you, really
pack the paint, nothing is open. There’s got to be a mix of things. Got to be off the ball, playing off the pitch, coming off ball screens. You can’t run the very same thing regularly versus these guys. You got to mix it up.”We got to do a better job of that. I feel like I most likely got captured in too many high pick-and-rolls where they can really load it
in and wind up getting shots late against the clock, particularly the very first half of both games. “To a guy, the Pacers discussed getting the ball into the paint more and working inside-out to get their efforts, as they have actually done all season.
It likewise could indicate a bit more Pascal Siakam with the ball in his hands for the Pacers.”[ Siakam is] one of the few guys on their team that really looks for seclusion to score. A great deal of other guys, it’s through the flow of their offense and speed,”Caruso said.Whatever the Pacers do to adjust, it won’t alter how the Thunder wish to play. “My technique will be the exact same. Our approach will be the very same,” Dort said.Indiana is going
to come out at home Wednesday night in a crucial Video game 3(with the series connected 1-1)and toss its best punch– which punch needs to have Haliburton shooting more.Just not too much.