Tyrese Haliburton revealed that he and Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle no longer focus on watching offensive film, focusing on defense instead.
The Indiana Pacers are hoping to repeat their success from last season where they made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals, ending a 10-year drought. A repeat of this won’t be possible unless franchise cornerstone Tyrese Haliburton elevates himself amongst the best in the NBA.
It’s been a rough season for Haliburton. He has come under fire from the likes of Kendrick Perkins and Shaquille O’Neal has criticised Haliburton’s subpar performances. However, the point guard has turned his form around recently with the Pacers looking to consolidate their position as a top-four seed in the East.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle is a former championship winner and knows what he needs from Haliburton to maximize their success.
The coach and guard are working closely on refining Tyrese’s skillset. This has led to them taking a bold step – committing to not watching or analyzing offensive film together at all.
After the Pacers picked up a hard-fought 111-91 win over the Toronto Raptors last night, Tyrese Haliburton spoke to the media. He made it clear that he and coach Carlisle are focused on filling any holes in Haliburton’s defensive skillset.
“Me and coach don’t really watch offensive film together any more, it’s more defensive stuff.
“He’s always on me about being more solid, being in the right places. And he knows I have instincts, and, you know, I tend to gamble from time to time. But, you know, he’s just been on me about, you know, gambling within the system.
“Taking chances, smart chances. You know, when they present themselves. So I still absolutely got a long way to go on the defensive ball, but Coach has done a great job.”
Despite being a 6’5″ point guard, Haliburton isn’t regarded as a strong defender. The Pacers have built a strong defensive core around him, but all elite players need to hold their own on that end.
Even if Haliburton’s natural skillset makes him a very complete offensive option, he needs to be a respectable defensive option to unlock the Pacers’ true potential. That’s why Carlisle’s instruction about gambling less and staying within the system is crucial for Haliburton to follow.
The Pacers have a 114.7 defensive rating this season, ranked 19th in the NBA this season.
Coach Carlisle is no stranger to overseeing a franchise with a clear franchise star. He led the Dallas Mavericks with Dirk Nowitzki to a title and oversaw Luka Doncic’s emergence into an All-NBA player.
While Tyrese Haliburton emerged as a star last season, Carlisle needs to maximize what he gets from his point guard to compete for a title. He made it clear that Haliburton was the reason Indiana sealed their 20-point win over the Raptors with a fantastic compliment.
“Tyrese was the difference in the game. He had four threes in the first quarter, maybe even five I’m not sure, but that got the building going. It got us juiced up. This is why you need great players on your team.
“To me, it’s just been a gradual ascent through the season, we do think the rest during the break was helpful, he’s played very well in all four of these games.”
Tyrese Haliburton is averaging 18.4 points and 8.7 assists this season. He put up 33 points (12-15 FG) and 11 assists to help seal the win over the Raptors.
While he didn’t look great as a scorer for the first few months of the campaign, he’s found consistency with his shot now. This bodes well for the Pacers as they hunker down for the Playoffs.
