It’s the season of giving and the Indiana Pacers have a man to be grateful to for their early season prosperity. Tyrese Haliburton gave the league a boost by leading Indiana’s turnaround in the second year of his tenure at Indiana. No offense is more exciting to watch or more dynamic than the Indiana Swashbucklers and they used this play-in tournament as a springboard. They’re 3-0, upset the Philadelphia 76ers and are practically on par for the quarterfinals while their offense blows up any team that dares try to slow them down.
Calling the Indiana Pacers one of the most scintillating teams in the NBA is an understatement. Five decades into its NBA existence, Indiana is finally playing at the pace of the Indy 500. The Reggie Miller era was defined by a physical, high-90s offense backed by a stifling defense and big-time anchor Rik Smits. Malice in the Palace might have been just shorthand for the brand of physicality that Ron Artest, Jermaine O’Neal and late-career Reggie played to compete with Detroit’s suffocating defense. Paul George and Roy Hibbert played some of the slowest, sometimes hard to watch, offensive basketball. Haliburton has Indiana’s offense at levels never seen before in these parts.
Fresh off playing a starring role for Team USA at the FIBA World Cup, Haliburton leads the league in assists, while shooting 51 percent from the field, which isn’t far from his average career, and scoring nearly 25 per night. Even though Indiana has an affinity for Haliburton, defenders might view him with as much disdain as Scotty spies on Nino Brown distribute turkeys as a sign of goodwill.
Those are the best attack in the league over 11 games in league history, they rank first in assist-to-turnover ratio, are near the top in turnover percentage, and lead in effective field goal percentage.
Since being handed the keys to Indiana’s offense, Haliburton has become the embodiment of the heliocentric offensive engine that Cade Cunningham was supposed to be for Detroit. He’s a stretched out Trae Young who can score at will and manifest points out of nowhere. Haliburton, like so many rising stars, symbolizes how floor length and spacing have become operational procedure. Standing at 6-foot-5 with a wingspan of 6-foot-8, Haliburton is one of the most prolific distributors in the league. However, unlike Young, Haliburton is less of a defensive liability as one of the league’s deadliest shooters, even though he has one of the league’s most awesome jumpers.
While Haluburton took care of the point for the American team, Young’s invitation never arrived. It’s fitting that Tuesday night’s in-season tournament matchup between the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers produced so many offensive pyrotechnics and gave us some insight into why Young was snubbed. The Pacers’ 157 points scored set a new franchise record and gave Indiana the win in the optional defense category. But in the individual battle, Haliburton illustrated why Young has fallen in the young guard pecking order behind his peers.
In the third quarter of Indiana’s final play-in tournament game, Haliburton was absolutely stupid, lighting up the Atlanta Hawks for 26 points of his game-high 36 points. Don’t think Haliburton took a night off from playing, though. He ended up compiling 16 assists thanks in part to Indy’s scoring support.
Somehow, the Pacers gave their offense a boost by phasing out Buddy Hield, who was obtained permission to seek an exchange before summer. Hield’s league-leading playoff drought is approaching 500 games, but if he finds a new address, Indiana is finally on the verge of making the playoffs.
One year ago, The Sacramento Beam Team has become one of the 9 wonders of the NBA world, but Indiana’s offense has become an equally enticing attraction. Ironically, Sacramento’s renaissance was sparked by the risky trade of Tyrese Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis before the 2022 trade deadline. It became one of the few high-profile trades that happened on both sides. Every time we think we’ve seen the limits of offensive basketball, a new offensive development challenges our ability to understand. If the league ended today, Indiana would surpass the 2022-23 Sacramento Kings as the highest scoring offense per 100 possessions.
Indiana’s makeover happened a year later than Sac-Town’s, but the signs were there that Haliburton was special. Indiana showed its respect for Haliburton’s development by rewarding him with a $260 million extension. On his second go-around with Indiana, Rick Carlisle threw caution to the wind and let Haliburton drive without the restrictor plates. This season, the Pacers are now executing at a remarkably efficient rate for a team that leads the league in pace. The Wizards and Hawks are second and third, respectively, in this department, but their offenses don’t create easier shots at the rate Indiana’s does. The Wizards and Hawks score 11 and 4 fewer points per 100 possessions, respectively.
The In-Season Tournament was designed for teams like Indiana to leave their mark everywhere. Indiana’s youth and defensive limitations will always hamper them in a seven-game series, but they’ve already shown how much it can elevate them in a single-elimination format. The Pacers allow the most points in the paint, selling out to defend the perimeter, but have somehow exploited their playmaking defense into the best transition offense in the NBA. Indiana will have a chance to make its mark with its no-holds-barred offense when the quarterfinals begin, but the statement has already been made.
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