Tyrese Haliburton is taking over the NBA and the Pacers rebuild is now further along than originally expected
After yet another double-double with 0 turnovers, Haliburton is an advanced statistics darling with an unparalleled mix of playmaking, defense, and efficient shooting.
In February of 2022, the Sacramento Kings shocked their whole fanbase by trading young star Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers in a package centered around Domantas Sabonis. Haliburton was averaging 14.3 points, 7.4 assists, and 1.7 steals per game with an 3PT% of 41.7, an eFG% of 54.6, and a TS% of 57.5 before being sent to the Pacers, while Sabonis was averaging 18.9 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 5 assists per game with an eFG% of 61 and a TS% of 64.9 before being sent to the Kings.
At just 21 years of age, Haliburton had already shown an innate ability to find open teammates at a high level while limiting his turnovers. The Kings thought they could only build their roster around one point guard and stuck with De’Aaron Fox (who has played exceptionally this season averaging 24.3 points, 6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game with an eFG% of 58 and TS% of 62.1) over Haliburton. The Kings now have the 3rd best offensive rating in basketball (116.4) and are in the top 3 of both team eFG% and TS%, but their defensive rating of 114.8 (24th in theNBA) is not ideal.
Without Sabonis’ excellent playmaking and offensive prowess, would this Kings team be as dominant offensively with a tandem of Haliburton and Fox? Probably not. Would Fox have taken this kind of leap on both ends of floor as an off guard while Haliburton was playing point guard if they team hadn’t traded for Sabonis? Probably not as well. However, what would have been certain if the Kings kept Haliburton is that the defense would be dramatically better. Could the Kings have pulled off a Fox for Sabonis deal instead? Probably not, otherwise they would have.
Nonetheless, we can only speculate so much about what the Kings could have become with Haliburton at the helm, and they are doing fine as it is sitting at 10-8 and putting together elite offensive performances on a nightly basis. On the Pacers side of things, they were never going to compete in the Eastern Conference with Sabonis as their best player. They needed a game-changing point guard and they got one.
Pacers fans were ecstatic when Haliburton arrived in Indiana and he already has taken a substantial leap this season averaging 19.9 points, 11.3 assists, and 1.8 steals with a 3PT% of 38, an eFG% of 56.4, a TS% of 59.5, and a PER of 24.1 (ranked 10th in the NBA). He leads the NBA in double-doubles (all in the points and assists categories) and is coming off of a three game stretch where he accumulated 40 assists and 0 turnovers, a feat that hasn’t been done since these types of statistics were initially recored in 1977.
Haliburton is also the first player since Chris Paul in 2015 to lead the league in assists and be outside the top 20 in turnovers. As a result, the Pacers are 4th in the Eastern Conference standings with a 12-8 record, an offensive rating of 113.8 (ranked 10th), a defensive rating of 112.4 (ranked 13th), and a NET Rating of 1.4 (ranked 12th). The Pacers also have the 3rd best APG (assists per game) mark in the NBA at 28.1.
Obviously Haliburton isn’t the only amazing player on this Pacers roster, as Buddy Hield, Myles Turner, and rookie Bennedict Mathurin have had excellent years as well. However, in what originally appeared to be a “tank for Victor Wenbanyama” year, the Pacers could be heading to the playoffs and are further along in their rebuild than they originally expected because of the once in a generation point guard talent they have in Tyrese Haliburton.
Note: Advanced Statistics used in this article are gathered from Statmuse.com and are updated as of Tuesday, November 29th, 2022.