Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton The ongoing downturn is slowing Indiana

Tyrese Haliburton signed the most expensive contract in Indiana Pacers history after the 2022-23 season. He signed a five-year, $260 million contract extension with the franchise. After the Pacers decided to trade for him, they invested a lot of money in him.

In the first few months after signing that contract extension, it looked like he was worth every penny. He played like the best point guard in the league as he led the Pacers to the NBA Cup Finals in the tournament’s first year. Then everything changed when he got injured.

While playing against the Celtics, Haliburton strained his hamstring. He missed three weeks, except for one game against the Portland Trail Blazers, and was never the same after that. His numbers dropped massively. Nevertheless, he managed to make it to the All-NBA third team.

Before the injury, Haliburton averaged 24.2 points, 12.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 32 games. After the injury, he averaged just 17.3 points, 9.5 assists and 3.8 rebounds. Then he was injured again in the Eastern Conference finals against the Celtics, ending his season.

Haliburton hasn’t played well this season either. He averages just 17.4 points, 8.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. Those are even worse numbers than the numbers he posted after the injury a season ago. For the money he makes, the Pacers need him to play better.

Indiana relies on Haliburton to lead the tempo of the offense. He is the main driver of the offense, especially in transition. When the Pacers were at their best a season ago, they were the fastest-playing team in the NBA. That hasn’t been the case this year as they only sit seventh in the league.

Perhaps the most concerning statistic is his shooting percentage. Haliburton is shooting just 43% from the field. He also takes the fewest shots in a full season for the Pacers. He’s not that aggressive and when he is, he misses his shots. That’s a bad recipe for a team that relies so heavily on its success.

If Haliburton can’t change his game, the Pacers won’t make any noise in the playoffs. There’s a chance they could even miss the playoffs. His defense is still terrible as he was never a good defender. Nevertheless, he was able to compensate for this with a strong offensive. That wasn’t even the case this season.

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