There is just something about the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament that has made this season special. Games early on in the NBA season have never truly mattered that much, but now teams have a reason to fight and give their best effort. As a result, we have seen playoff-like atmospheres and high-level competition across the board. Oh, and the resurgence of the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference with Tyrese Haliburton as their focal point has been positively impacted by the in-season tournament.
Last season, the Pacers won 35 games, a step up from the 25 games they won in Rick Carlisle's first season back in Indiana. Through 19 games this season, the Pacers find themselves with an 11-9 record, which doers not appear to be that impressive by itself seeing as this team is in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference. When you dive deeper into the numbers and look at the success Indiana has found though, it is clear to see that something special is brewing.
The Pacers took on the Boston Celtics at home on Monday night in the quarterfinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament. Despite being at home, the Celtics were the overwhelming favorites entering this game due to the firepower in their starting lineup. Even with all the narrative surrounding Boston being championship contenders and the clear favorites' in this tournament, it was the Pacers who stole the spotlight with a 122-112 victory, effectively knocking the Celtics out of the in-season tournament and advancing to the semifinals in Las Vegas.
When looking at sheer talent, the Celtics are obviously the better team on paper. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are two All-NBA talents and both Derrick White and Jrue Holiday are two of the better perimeter defenders in the entire league. Boston is still very clearly a title contender, but this in-season tournament game proved that offensive firepower and comradery can win games in this league.
The Pacers were built around Haliburton, one of the league's best playmakers at the point guard position, making their blend of youth and athleticism overlooked. Now, Indiana has put themselves on notice with their recent victory over Boston, a win that they believed was possible regardless of what the outside noise said.
“It feels good, feels good to win, especially in a game where nobody expected us to. You don't play on national TV if you don't win games,” Haliburton stated in his opening postgame remarks following the Pacers' victory over the Celtics. “The more that we come out here and prove on a night-to-night basis that we can win games, it's going to change. That's what we are all about right now. You know, changing how this organization is viewed and how we are viewed as players. We are going to come out here and compete every night.”
Changing the narrative surrounding themselves has seemed to be the moto that resonates with every member of the Pacers organization. For years, this organization was amongst the best in the East, putting together 49-win and 56-win seasons en route to the Eastern Conference Finals. Then superstar Paul George left and the Pacers took a step backward despite having some competitive teams with Domantas Sabonis as their focal point. The Pacers took a huge risk during the 2021-22 season when they traded Sabonis, a proven All-Star, for Haliburton, a guard who had been serving as a backup off the bench.
This trade has turned out to be arguably the best thing to ever happen to Indiana as an organization, as they are just now beginning their ascension to the top of the NBA world.
Tyrese Haliburton's breakout season
There are many great guards in the NBA. Stephen Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Damian Lillard, and Devin Booker are a few that come to mind right away. What makes Tyrese Haliburton such a special talent, and perhaps a dark horse for this season's MVP award, is the fact that he cares too much about those around him finding success.
To be a successful guard nowadays in the NBA, you have to be able to score off the dribble, as doing so will make you a sustainable option on offense. Having the ability to create opportunities for your teammates and even knock down shots on the perimeter at a high rate makes you a superstar. Haliburton can do all of these things and so far this season, he has elevated himself above the rest of the league.
The 23-year-old guard has played in 17 games so far this season for the Pacers. In these 17 games, which includes Monday night's victory over the Celtics, Haliburton has averaged 26.9 points, 11.9 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 52.1 percent from the floor and 44.7 percent from three-point range. Haliburton ranks 13th in the league in scoring, first in assists, and first in three-point shooting percentage (min. 150 attempts). What is even more impressive is that Haliburton has recorded 14 total double-doubles, tied for the fourth-most in the league and the most by a player combining only points and assists.
As just mentioned, Haliburton has played in 17 games this season, including Monday night's in-season tournament game. Before their game against the Celtics, the Pacers guard had missed the team's most recent game against the Miami Heat due to an upper respiratory illness. Questionable entering the day, there was no chance that Haliburton was going to let the medical staff hold him out of the tournament game.
Feeling the impact of his illness and trying to battle through, Indiana's star struggled early on and was given early breaks on the bench to conserve his energy. At halftime, Haliburton was sluggish after recording seven points, six rebounds, and two assists. That's when things changed and Haliburton tried something new for the first time in his life to help with his respiratory problems.
“The first half, I was dead, ” Haliburton stated. “The medical staff did a great job and got me an inhaler at halftime and I was able to breathe the second half. That felt better. They did a good job.”
Haliburton came out of the halftime locker room looking like his All-Star self in the second half, as he finished the game against Boston with 26 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds in 40 minutes of play, notching his first career triple-double in perhaps his most important game as a member of the Pacers. Against all odds and dealing with respiratory problems, Haliburton put everything aside, focusing on one thing and one thing only: Win the game at hand.
“He's really a one of a kind player that I've coached,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Haliburton. “His skill level, his connectiveness to his teammates, his leadership, his ability to both give teammate confidence and deliver the ball on time on target, as well as score in the 30s or 40s to win games. He's an exceedingly special player and he's learning more and more about winning at the highest level.
“Coming out with a win tonight was a big for a lot of reasons that I mentioned, but I know this was really special to him as well.”
Nearly averaging a 50/40/90 season to this point, Haliburton has completely reinvented himself from a spark off the bench to being the motor of his team. The Pacers can go as far as Haliburton takes them and on Monday night, they needed every bit of production from their superstar to advance to Las Vegas.
Now, there are not only questions about if the Pacers can win it all and take home the first-ever NBA Cup, but if they can truly sustain the success they have found early on this season. The answer to this seems very clear, especially since their approach on offense is so much more unique than any other team in the league right now.
Why Indiana can contend in the Eastern Conference
Have you ever heard of the saying: “Defense wins championships?”
From the NFL to the MLB to the NBA, we see championship teams every single year always make exceptional defensive plays that put them in a position to succeed. Even though Monday night against the Celtics was perhaps the Pacers' best defensive performance of the season, this has not necessarily been an area of focus for Indiana throughout the early portion of the 2023-24 season schedule.
The Pacers are focused on being a high-level offensive team. This means attack the basket, putting pressure on opposing defenses, and pushing the pace to get as many possessions and shot attempts as possible. They take the most shots per game, they make the most shots per game, and the Pacers are currently averaging 128.4 points per night on the season. Should this pace hold up and Indiana continues to increase their offensive output, they will become the league's highest-scoring team ever, surpassing the 1981-82 Denver Nuggets, who averaged 126.5 points per game with Hall of Famers Alex English and Dan Issel leading the way.
Carlisle and his coaching staff just want their team to play hard and they want them to look to score with tempo. Given their depth and athleticism, the Pacers know that they can wear down teams over the course of 48 minutes with their fast-paced style of play. Not many teams in the league can consistently score 120-plus points every single game, which is why Indiana's approach is as simple as it gets in the game of basketball: Score more points than your opponent.
Now, this is not to say that the Pacers do not care about defending. They may rank dead-last in the league in opponent's points per game, but Indiana has the capability of locking in and stepping up when it matters most on defense, much like they did against the Celtics late in the fourth quarter of Monday's in-season tournament game. Veteran big man Myles Turner understands this and is the team's leading defensive voice compared to Haliburton being the leader on offense.
“I think, more than anything, we know we are capable. I think when you have balanced scoring, guys compete harder on defense,” Turner claimed. “When we all feel involved and this guy [Tyrese Haliburton] leads the league in assists, the more he gets guys involved and what not, it just makes you wat to compete harder on the other side of the floor… If we want to get to the playoffs and be an elite team, obviously that's where got to hang out hats. Offense wins games, but defense wins championships. We are going to keep winning games and figure it out on defense.”
Turner makes an excellent point about the way things are structured in Indiana right now. Haliburton is “the guy” and everyone on the team knows this, but he is not like Joel Embiid or Kevin Durant or Luka Doncic, three players everyone knows are going to have the ball in their hands late in a game. Haliburton is capable of taking big shots and sealing the deal for the Pacers, as well making extra passes to find his teammates for the best shot possible.
It is not a coincidence that the Pacers have eight different players averaging at least 10 points per game this season and they rank first in the league in offensive rating. Six different players are shooting above 36 percent from three-point range (min. 50 attempts), and as a team, the Pacers are shooting above 50 percent from the floor.
The Pacers have a historic offense right now and everything for them starts with Haliburton's unselfishness. A true leader and a true star for his team, Haliburton has the Pacers in a position where they can quickly make it clear that they are contender with two more wins and an in-season tournament championship to their name.
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