The Indiana Pacers will be heading back home for Game 3 of the NBA Finals with the series tied. Game 2 was probably not their best performance of the postseason, and most people have been pointing at Tyrese Haliburton for his play. Through three quarters, Haliburton had five points as the Oklahoma City Thunder were leading by double digits.
Everyone knows that Haliburton is a gifted playmaker, but they also know that he needs to be more aggressive as a scorer if the Pacers want to win. Legendary head coach Don Nelson thinks the same thing, and he recently shared his opinion on Haliburton.
“Oh, I love his game,” Nelson said via Marc Stein. “I do wish he was a little more aggressive. He's very unselfish — probably too unselfish. He should probably be a little more aggressive offensively. But he makes the right play almost every time.”
The Thunder have done a good job of containing Haliburton, and they want other players to make plays with the ball. Haliburton usually is driving and kicking the ball out for his teammates, and the Thunder know that. He has to start looking to attack at the rim the scoring, while also looking for his perimeter shot earlier in the game.
Tyrese Haliburton evaluates his performance after Game 2
Though Haliburton finished the game with 17 points, most of the points came in the fourth quarter when the Thunder were already leading by a lot. After the game, he was honest about his performance and what he needed to do better.
Article Continues Below“I think I've had two really poor first halves. I just gotta figure out how to be better earlier in games,” Haliburton said. “But, you know, kudos to them, they're a great defensive team. But, you know, watch the film, see where I can get better.”
Head coach Rick Carlisle also shared his thoughts on Haliburton and said that everybody needs to be better.
“There's a lot more to the game than just scoring. Everybody's got to do more,” Carlisle said. “Starts with the best players, starts with Tyrese and Pascal and Myles, and then it goes from there. People shouldn't just look at his points and assists and judge how he played or judge how any of our guys played just on that, that's not how our team is built.”
It will be interesting to see what adjustments the Pacers make in Game 3 and what they will do to stop the Thunder.