Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton admits basketball frustration before huge turnaround
Yesterday at 12:57 AM
Suffice to say, the start of the 2024-25 season has not gone according to plan for Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton has struggled out of the gates, averaging 15.8 points and 8.5 assists on poor shooting splits of 38/31/83 entering their Monday night matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans. It is getting to the point where even Haliburton is unable to explain why he’s struggling the way he has been so far this season.
But Monday represented a change in Haliburton’s fortunes. The Pacers star put up his best performance of the season in a 114-110 win over the Pelicans, putting up 34 points and 13 assists while making nine of his 18 three-point attempts on the night. And perhaps most importantly, Haliburton was playing with an unbridled joy that seemed to be missing throughout their first few games of the new campaign.
On Monday night, Haliburton became fully candid with how the experience of the first few weeks of the season has been so far for him. Per Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star, the “frustrations” have been getting to Haliburton and that he’s been losing the joy that’s supposed to accompany playing the game he loves with all of him. In fact, Haliburton admitted that basketball started feeling like a “job”, but his performance on Monday reminded him of the incomparable joy that he derives from playing the sport.
Some would argue that “joy” is a given for professional basketball players, as they are multi-millionaires who play the game they live and breathe for a living. But being a professional athlete, much less a star, comes with it its fair share of external pressures. For Haliburton, he’s supposed to continue putting up 20 and 10 on a nightly basis instead of struggling, and it’s no surprise to see all the external noise get to him at some point.
But the track record is there for Haliburton, and it’s only a matter of time before the Pacers star strings together more of these games.
Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers recognize that there is no place like home
The contrast between Tyrese Haliburton’s performances at home and on the road has been night and day. Some believe that the Pacers star is dealing with some sort of soreness to his back, and perhaps being at home is helping him alleviate the situation.
In the friendly confines of Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Haliburton is averaging 23 points and nine assists on 62 percent true shooting, whereas on the road, the Pacers star is scuffling to the tune of 12 points and eight assists on 44 percent TS.
The good news for the Pacers is that their next two games will be at home; perhaps Haliburton could use these games as a take-off point as he seeks to recover his All-Star form.
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