The Indiana Pacers are one game away from advancing to the NBA Finals after defeating the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. They were led by Tyrese Haliburton, who had his best game of the postseason, finishing with 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 15 assists.

For the past few days, there have been talks on whether Haliburton should be considered a superstar, and after his latest performance, you would think people would give in and give him that label. That did not happen, and Stephen A. Smith is one of those people standing on ten toes about his feelings on Haliburton.

“When I think about a superstar, I'm thinking about you being a consistent No. 1 option that teams have to gameplan against every single night, and you answer the call,” Smith said on First Take. “To me, that hasn't always been Tyrese Haliburton. Even in this series it's been a couple of games where he hasn't been there. I don't view him that way, not yet.

“He's d— good. He's a young, rising star in this game. He has to keep it up. I need to see more consistency before I give him that kind of label.”

Haliburton may not be the superstar that Smith is looking for, but he has shown up more times than not for the Pacers, and he has them close to advancing to the finals.

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Tyrese Haliburton coming up big for the Pacers at the right moment

Despite the superstar debates, Haliburton put on a masterclass against the Knicks in Game 4, and he became the first player to ever record 30+ points, 15+ assists, 10+ rebounds, and 0 turnovers in a playoff game.

“We making up stats at some point to make me look better,” Haliburton said after the game. “I think I'm just trying to play the right way. I just want to impact winning. I've told you guys that for the last two years. After my third year, getting the big contract and now having to step into a new role, for me it was about how can I impact winning.”

Some don't consider Haliburton the typical superstar, but he's getting the job done for the Pacers when they need him the most. The Pacers play a brand of basketball that doesn't need one player to dominate, and everybody on the court is contributing at some level. That has got them this far, and it will probably help them get to the NBA Finals.