Tyrese Haliburton’s strained calf was the storyline heading into Thursday’s Game 6. Deemed a “game-time decision” on Wednesday by Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, Carlisle was asked only three questions in his pregame news conference Thursday. All about Haliburton.
But before the questions started, he let everyone know what many suspected: Tyrese Haliburton was going to play.
And play he did. Haliburton finished with 14 points and five assists and didn’t have to play a minute in the fourth quarter as the Pacers crushed the Oklahoma City Thunder, leading by as many as 30 points in a 108-91 win to force a Game 7.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has been critical of the Pacers star guard this postseason, but gave Haliburton his flowers following his Game 6 performance.
“I’m proud of him,” Smith said on Friday morning’s ‘First Take.’ “I think Rick Carlisle pulled the okey-doke on all of us. He did not look like a dude with a strained calf — at all. I’m talking about east, west, north, south, it didn’t matter. He seemed to be moving like somebody that didn’t have that damn injury. Steals. Pulling up from deep, damn near the logo. Driving to the basket. Shooting turnaround jump shots. I’m like, ‘What the hell is going on here.’
“But I’ve got to tell you something right now, even though he was very inspirational, and there’s no question about that, he wasn’t the biggest story. Obi Toppin coming off the bench scoring eight points in that first quarter mattered. T.J. McConnell, he’s leading everybody in the NBA Finals with 14 steals. He’s just a little energizer bunny. He’s a professional pest. He’s going out there and making things happen.
“So I’m looking at it from that standpoint. I’m saying, you’ve got all of these cats… six different dudes had eight points in the first half, and they started out the game down 10-2, and outscored Oklahoma City 88-50 through three quarters. It was an annihilation. I did not expect that. I did not anticipate that. But that’s what makes this Game 7 special. Because it’s one thing to get blown out, but to get blown out in a Game 6, I haven’t seen anybody lose like that that late in an NBA Finals. I think the fact that you got blown out like that makes Game 7, very, very compelling.”
Former Duke guard Jay Williams also had praise for Haliburton.
“What does this say about Hali? I think this is Hali spitting in the face of narratives. Whether you want to go to the narrative of a superstar, whether you want to go to the narrative of him being Jaleel White, whether you want to go to the narrative of him being corny or injured or overrated. This is him literally spitting in the face of it.
“And people can talk about T.J. McConnell, he deserves to be spoken about. People can talk about Pascal Siakam making buckets down the stretch or Obi Toppin deserves to be spoken about. But (Haliburton) is the engine to the car. He got them going in the second half… If it comes down to the wire, with the body of work, I trust Tyrese Haliburton in those moments more than I trust SGA. That’s how I feel about it. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it. SGA is a prolific scorer, but it’s just not Tyrese Haliburton. Rick Carlisle and the schemes they throw out at SGA I think are drastically different. I think (Mark) Daigneault is being outcoached, and I think Hali will be positioned properly down the stretch because of Rick Carlisle more than I trust Daigneault with SGA. That’s just my feeling.”
Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas was less impressed — but also seemed to forget the Pacers won Game 1 in OKC: “Every other game, he’s playing decent basketball. If I had to put my money on it: 1, 3, 5 and 7, he’s going to be horrible next game.”
Big words from a player who won one playoff series in 11 seasons.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ‘This is Hali spitting in the face of narratives.’ Tyrese Haliburton’s Game 6 performance draws praise
Reporting by Matthew Glenesk, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
