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Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault knows his team will have its hands full in trying to contain Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton in the NBA Finals. Daigneault knows Rick Carlisle leads a confident squad, shocking the league with its unanticipated run through the Eastern Conference to face the Thunder. The alpha star has been Haliburton, whose late-game heroics stunned the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Daigneault addressed Haliburton’s impact ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
“He’s pretty unique. There’s guys similar to him, but he’s pretty unique,” Daigneault said. “The transition catalyst that he is is definitely unique. He does a great job of activating his teammates in transition with pace and advanced passing. He’s a dynamic pick-and-roll player that can make every pick-and-roll pass. He generates great pace in the pick-and-roll game, which puts teams behind the ball against him. And he can score.”
Haliburton averaged 21.0 points and 10.5 assists in six games against the Knicks.
“Because he activates his team so much, I think the passing gets a lot of shine, but it’s created by his threat as a scorer, and his gravity as a scorer,” Daigneault added. “If you didn’t have to honor him as a scorer, he wouldn’t be as effective as a passer, or he wouldn’t have the same opportunities to create. There’s a reason they are where they are. There’s a reason he’s where he is. We have great respect for them, certainly for them, and they’re a tall task to try to handle on both ends of the floor.”
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Many fans are excited for the Haliburton vs Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA Finals, including Hall of Fame guard and five-time Los Angeles Lakers champion Magic Johnson.
Mark Daigneault’s respect for Rick Carlisle before Thunder series
Before explaining what makes Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton so special during his media availability, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault discussed Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle.
“I have a lot of respect for him. He’s just got an unbelievable life in basketball,” Daigneault said. “All of the things he’s experienced in his playing career. Then, in his assistant coaching career, in his head coaching career, he’s forgotten more about the game than most of us has seen. So, I have a lot of respect for him. I know him. He’s the president of the coaches’ association. So, he’s got, I think, 29 really good relationships with the coaches.”
Carlisle’s extensive coaching resume includes an NBA championship with the 2010-11 Mavericks, as well as guiding the Pacers to back-to-back appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers hired Carlisle in 2021.
