Tyrese Haliburton

Pacers Notes: Haliburton, Nembhard, Nesmith

May 11th, 2024 at 11:57am CST by Tristan Tucker

Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton suffered multiple injuries in Indiana’s Game 3 win over the Knicks, but battled through them to finish with 35 points and seven assists. After already dealing with lower back spasms, Haliburton hurt his tailbone and twisted his ankle in the span of a few minutes of game time, Dustin Dopirak of IndyStar writes.

“My just overall body right now,” Haliburton said. “I’m hurtin’. But they got guys hurting too. We gotta understand that everybody’s hurting right now. Thank God we got a day in between. I’m young and I’ll heal up and be ready on Sunday.”

He’ll likely be on the injury report ahead of Sunday’s Game 4, but coach Rick Carlisle said he’s hopeful Haliburton will be available.

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Haliburton has turned up the aggression for the Pacers after taking just six shots in the opening loss of the series, Dopirak writes. In his past two games, Haliburton is averaging 34.5 points and 8.0 assists while taking 22.5 shots – including 13.5 threes – per game. In his first seven playoff contests, Haliburton only averaged 13.0 shots per game, 8.4 of which were from downtown. He averaged 14.6 points and 9.1 assists in those games.
Despite a cold shooting night, Andrew Nembhard came up with one of the biggest plays in franchise history when he launched a three-pointer after a broken play to ultimately give Indiana the victory. Eric Nehm of The Athletic and Dopirak each explore in separate stories how Nembhard’s big shot came to be. “The clock was down, and sometimes, in those situations, it frees you up even more,” Carlisle said of Nembhard’s three-pointer. “And he just laced it.“
Carlisle moved Aaron Nesmith onto the assignment of guarding Jalen Brunson, Kyle Neddenriep of IndyStar observes. “You can’t give New York a recipe of the same thing over and over again,” Carlisle said. “They are going to adjust. Brunson is too great a player. So, the idea was to change the matchup and get a little more size and Aaron did as good a job as you can possibly do. Brunson is so good. He’s the best scorer in the playoffs, I believe.” Nesmith helped hold Brunson to 26 points (down from his average of 35.6 through his first eight playoff games) on 38.5% shooting (down from 45.7%).

Pacers Notes: Carlisle, Officiating, Disputed Calls, Haliburton, Turner

May 9th, 2024 at 9:32am CST by Dana Gauruder

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle downplayed some controversial calls in Game 1 of his team’s series against the Knicks, saying “We’re not expecting to get calls in here (at Madison Square Garden).”

He struck a much different tone during and after Indiana’s Game 2 loss on Wednesday. Carlisle was ejected late in the fourth quarter of the Pacers’ 130-121 loss, then ripped the officiating in the postgame press conference, claiming that “small-market teams” don’t get a fair shake.

“Small-market teams deserve an equal shot,” Carlisle said, per Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “They deserve a fair shot no matter where they’re playing.”

Carlisle pointed out a number of instances where he felt his team got an unfavorable whistle or a no-call on a Knicks foul.

“I’m always talking to our guys about not making it about the officials,” Carlisle said. “But we deserve a fair shot. There’s not a consistent balance, and that’s disappointing. Give New York credit for the physicality that they’re playing with. But their physicality is rewarded and ours is penalized. Time after time. I’m just really disappointed.”

The Pacers have submitted 78 plays to the league, covering the first two games, that they felt were incorrectly called, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports. That includes 49 calls from Wednesday’s contest. As part of NBA protocol, the clips will also be shared with the Knicks.

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While Carlisle and the Pacers front office may be incensed with the officiating, their players were less critical. “Let’s not pretend like [officiating] is the only reason we lost. We just didn’t play good enough,” Tyrese Haliburton said, according to Windhorst. “We just got to be better.”
T.J. McConnell said afterward in a video posted by SNY TV (Twitter link), “We love Rick showing that type of energy on the court, but that’s not the feeling that we have in the locker room. We’re not going to sit here and blame officials. We gotta be better. It’s just that simple.”
One very positive development for the Pacers was the play of Haliburton. After scoring just six points in Game 1, the All-Star guard poured in a game-high 34 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including 7-of-11 on three-point attempts, Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes. “I just shot more shots, took what the defense gave me,” he said.
Meanwhile, Myles Turner pulled a disappearing act, Peter Botte of the New York Post points out. The Pacers’ starting center was held to six points and was minus-21 in 31 minutes after scoring 23 points in Game 1.

Central Notes: Pacers, McConnell, P. Williams, Pistons

May 8th, 2024 at 8:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pacers had two tough calls go against them in the final minute of Game 1, but coach Rick Carlisle refused to blame the officials for the loss, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. The first came with 52 seconds remaining when Aaron Nesmith was called for a kicked ball violation, even though the ball appeared to hit his hand rather than his foot. The other one happened when Myles Turner was whistled for a moving screen with 18.4 seconds left to play. Carlisle challenged the call, but the replay crew upheld it and that decision was confirmed in the Last Two Minute report.

“There’s so many events in an NBA game,” Carlisle said. “They’re always a sharp focus on the last minute, but there were things that happened with five or six minutes left that really hurt us. We had one play where one of our guys took a wild run to try to gamble and steal the ball, and it turned into a four-point play for them. I think we had a five-point lead at the time, and so, it’s not just the last minute or two. It’s a whole game. The whole fourth quarter. So this is a great experience for our guys. It comes at a cost. It’s so fun. But we’re gonna have to learn some things for Game 2.”

With the series resuming tonight, Nehm states that Indiana will need improved play down the stretch from Tyrese Haliburton and more attention toward keeping Josh Hart off the boards and the free throw line. Hart collected 13 rebounds in the opener and scored 10 of his 24 points in transition.

“He’s probably one of the best rebounder wings in the league, if not the best rebounding wing in the league,” Haliburton said. “You got to match his intensity there when he’s crashing. He was getting downhill, getting to the free throw yesterday. And then just in transition, when he gets the ball, I think everybody in the world knows he’s going left to right, Euro step. Still, he gets to it.”

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Speaking to reporters before tonight’s game, Carlisle talked about how difficult it was to coach against Pacers guard T.J. McConnell before they joined forces, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Carlisle recalled a game in which his Dallas team turned the ball over 16 times in the first half against McConnell’s Sixers. “To me, he was always such an effective player,” Carlisle said. “… He was just an enormous annoyance when you’re trying to play them.”
Bulls forward Patrick Williams turned down a four-year extension offer worth about $64MM before the start of the 2023/24 season, sources tell K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Johnson adds that Williams, who is headed toward restricted free agency, is expected to make a full recovery well before training camp after having surgery on his left foot in February.
It has been more than three weeks since the Pistons announced that they plan to hire a new head of basketball operations, but there have been no reports of any interviews in that time, Keith Langlois of NBA.com notes in a mailbag column. Langlois expects the interview process to get underway soon so that draft preparation can begin in earnest.

Pacers Notes: Haliburton, Game 2, Officiating, Carlisle

May 7th, 2024 at 9:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tyrese Haliburton was a non-factor offensively in the Pacers’ tight loss to the Knicks during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday. Haliburton had just six points and committed three turnovers.

The Pacers advanced past the Bucks in the opening round even though their star guard shot 43.5% from the field and 29.6% on 3-point attempts, Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes. Haliburton only attempted six shots and did dish out eight assists in Monday’s four-point defeat.

“He gets trapped every time he comes off and pick and roll. And the best thing about Tyrese is he won’t force a bad shot,” fellow guard T.J. McConnell said. “He gets others involved and we trust him wholeheartedly. With the ball in his hands every single time.”

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Haliburton spoke about his offensive woes after the team’s practice on Tuesday and vowed to be better in Game 2. “I erred on the side of play-making … and that wasn’t the right decision for me,” Haliburton said, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN. “I still got to be who I am, but yeah, I’ll just be better (Wednesday).” Haliburton is dealing with back spasms and is listed as questionable for Game 2, as he was entering the series. “I’m confident he’ll play, but it’s a concern,” coach Rick Carlisle said.
The Pacers had a right to be upset with the officiating in Game 1 but generally chose to take the high road, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star writes. During the final minute, forward Aaron Nesmith deflected a pass with his hand that was called a kicked ball, stopping play dead instead of giving the Pacers a steal that they could have turned into a fast-break bucket. With 12 seconds left and the Pacers down 118-117, Myles Turner was called for an offensive foul for an illegal screen. “I don’t want to talk about the officiating,” Carlisle said. “We’re not expecting to get calls in here.” Turner felt the officials’ controversial calls marred a thrilling contest. “In my experience in this league, I think it’s best when the players decide the outcome of the game,” Turner said. “I think it’s unfortunate that it happened.” The league’s Last Two Minutes report indicated Turner did commit an offensive foul, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets. Video of the plays can be found here (Twitter links).
Carlisle said in the pregame press conference on Monday that the Mavericks tried hard to trade up and snag Haliburton in the 2020 draft, when he slipped to the 12th pick, Dopirak tweets. “We thought he was the best player in the draft that year when we were in Dallas. We were trying desperately to trade up to get him,” Carlisle said. During a 2023 podcast appearance, Dallas’ then-owner, Mark Cuban, confirmed the team’s interest in trading up for Haliburton.

Central Notes: Toppin, Pacers, Allen, Pistons

May 5th, 2024 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Pacers forward Obi Toppin doesn’t view the upcoming series with the Knicks as a chance to get revenge on the team that traded him last summer, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Toppin appeared to have a bright future in New York after being selected with the eighth pick in the 2020 draft, but he was stuck behind Julius Randle on the depth chart. He got an expanded opportunity in his first season with Indiana and averaged career highs with 10.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per night.

“I feel like I’m preparing myself just like I did for Milwaukee,” Toppin said, referring to the first-round series that the Pacers won in six games. “Just locking into everything the coaches are telling us to do offensively and defensively, and playing my role.”

Toppin started 28 games this season, but he’s primarily a mainstay of Indiana’s second unit. He’s coming off one of his best games with 21 points and eight rebounds in the closeout victory over Milwaukee. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said the organization recognized Toppin’s value while he was there, but he was never going to get the chance to fully develop his game with Randle on the roster.

“We always thought he was a good player,” Thibodeau said. “I don’t think anything has changed. Very athletic, runs the floor great, shoots the ball, can score the ball. He’s always been able to score. Like I said, we loved having him. He was in a situation here where he’s playing behind Julius. So that was the story behind that.”

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Brian Lewis of The New York Post looks at how the Pacers were able to rush through the rebuilding process. It began at the 2022 trade deadline when Tyrese Haliburton was acquired from Sacramento in exchange for Domantas Sabonis. Another building block was added the following summer when Indiana sent Malcolm Brogdon to Boston for Aaron Nesmith. “Look, when we had to basically squash this thing two-and-a-half years ago and start over, when you start using the ‘R’ word, it can get ugly. There are teams that were rebuilding for nine years,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “(Team president Kevin Pritchard) and (general manager Chad Buchanan) struck gold with Tyrese and it turned out to be a great trade for Sacramento. And then the Nesmith trade was another important piece. … It’s been super fun with this group. When you work with a guy like Tyrese Haliburton on a day-to-day basis, there’s nothing better.”
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen will miss today’s Game 7 with a rib injury, tweets Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Allen has been unavailable since Game 4. Isaac Okoro, who started Game 5 but was replaced by Marcus Morris in Game 6, will be back in the starting lineup, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Pistons‘ search for a new president of basketball operations should accelerate soon, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. He notes that some of the candidates Detroit wants to interview have been involved in playoff runs, making it difficult to get permission from their teams.

Central Notes: Giannis, Allen, Vucevic, Haliburton

May 4th, 2024 at 8:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks were hoping to extend their first-round series long enough for Giannis Antetokounmpo to return, but the two-time MVP was never close to being activated, according to Jamal Collier of ESPN. Antetokounmpo revealed on Friday that the left calf strain he suffered April 9 was still limiting him to the point where he could only run at about 30-40%.

“I tried my best to come back to help my teammates,” he said. “It’s kind of hard to see them being out there and not being able to help them, but I just couldn’t. I did all the tests I had to do, these protocols you have to follow and have to check the boxes. I wasn’t even close at checking the boxes.”

It’s the second straight season that an Antetokounmpo injury has contributed to a first-round exit for Milwaukee. Collier notes that injuries in general prevented the Bucks from establishing any kind of rhythm after Doc Rivers replaced Adrian Griffin as head coach in late January. Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton only played eight games together under Rivers.

Antetokounmpo pointed out that the team had to adjust quickly after the trade for Lillard was completed late in the offseason and then again after the coaching change. He plans to visit Lillard in Oregon this summer to start preparing for next season.

“Obviously, it doesn’t feel good. The wound, you know, it’s fresh. It’s open. You just lost in the first round,” Antetokounmpo said. “But I’m not a guy who makes excuses. Right now, I do believe that when me, Khris and Dame and Brook (Lopez) was on the floor and we’re healthy, we were one of the best offenses in the NBA. And you can go and check that.”

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The condition of Antetokounmpo’s calf will affect his decision to represent Greece this summer, Collier adds. Antetokounmpo has indicated that he would like to play in the Olympics, but he hasn’t made a firm commitment. The Greek team will have to win a qualifying tournament in early July to earn a spot in Paris.
After missing two straight games with a rib contusion, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen is listed as questionable for Sunday’s Game 7, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Evan Mobley rolled his ankle Friday night, but he’s not on the team’s injury report, according to Fedor.
The Bulls plan to explore trade options involving starting center Nikola Vucevic, a source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Vucevic, 33, is owed a total of about $41.5MM over the next two years. He was noticeably slower on defense this season, Cowley observes, and he dropped to 29.4% from three-point range.
Tyrese Haliburton is familiar with the playoff history between the Pacers and Knicks and he’s looking forward to being part of it (video link from The Indianapolis Star). He’s also eager for the matchup with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, whom he said are both close friends.

And-Ones: All-In Teams, Second Apron, Paris, Larkin

May 3rd, 2024 at 11:35am CST by Rory Maher

The Suns, Lakers and Heat have all mortgaged significant future assets and spent a lot of money to make themselves better in the present, yet none of the three won 50 games in the regular season and they combined to win just two playoff games before being eliminated in the first round, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic.

As Hollinger details, all three teams face difficult questions entering the offseason, with Phoenix’s long-term outlook particularly problematic. Still, the best course of action for all three might be making relatively minor moves instead of going even more all-in than they already are, says Hollinger.

In the short-term, Miami is probably in the worst position of the three teams from a talent perspective, according to Hollinger, but the Heat have better young players than Phoenix and L.A. and have proven adept at developing undrafted free agents.

Seven of the NBA’s 10 biggest spenders in 2023/24 have already been eliminated from championship contention, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Those teams are, in order, the Warriors (No. 1), Suns (No. 3), Bucks (No. 5), Heat (No. 7), Lakers (No. 8), Pelicans (No. 9) and Sixers (No. 10).

The Clippers, who had the league’s second-highest payroll this season, also trail their first-round series with Dallas, Marks observes. Only the Celtics (No. 4) and Nuggets (No. 6) have advanced to the second round.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:salary cap

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports takes a closer look at the NBA’s second tax apron, a new addition to last year’s CBA. The most restrictive aspects of the second apron will kick in this offseason, Fischer notes.
The NBA confirmed in a press release that Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs will face Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers for a pair of regular season games in Paris next year. The games in France’s capital will be held on January 23 and January 25, 2025.
Guard Shane Larkin, who played four NBA seasons with Dallas, New York, Brooklyn and Boston from 2013-18, has signed a four-year extension with Turkey’s Anadolu Efes, the team announced in a press release (via Twitter). The 31-year-old has been one of the best players in Europe over the past several years, averaging 16.8 PPG, 5.1 APG, 2.9 RPG and 1.1 SPG on .464/.395/.912 shooting in 34 EuroLeague contests in ’23/24 (31.7 MPG).

Bucks’ Giannis, Lillard Out For Game 5

April 30th, 2024 at 6:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

APRIL 30: Antetokounmpo and Lillard are both out for Tuesday’s Game 5, Rivers told reporters prior the game, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets.

APRIL 29: The Bucks are on the verge of elimination and it’s unlikely they’ll have their two best players available for Game 5 of their first-round series with the Pacers. The team is listing both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard as doubtful to play on Tuesday, The Athletic’s Eric Nehm tweets.

Antetokounmpo hasn’t played the entire series due to a left calf strain that he suffered late in the regular season. Damian Lillard missed the Bucks’ Game 4 loss on Sunday due to right Achilles tendinitis. Lillard averaged 32.3 points and 5.3 assists in 40.7 minutes per contest during the first three games of the series.

Prior to Game 4, Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers expressed optimism that Antetokounmpo could return to action after the superstar went through a rugged workout on Sunday morning. “I think there’s a chance for him to play in this series. I really do,” he said.

Patrick Beverley (right oblique muscle strain) and Khris Middleton (right ankle sprain) are listed as probable to play.

The Pacers’ top player isn’t a lock to suit up, either. Tyrese Haliburton is listed as questionable due to back spasms, Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star tweets.

Central Notes: Bucks/Pacers Series, Haliburton, Lillard, Middleton, Pistons

April 27th, 2024 at 9:15am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Pacers took a 2-1 series lead over the Bucks on Friday in their first home playoff game in five years. As Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes, the Bucks did a good job of defending Indiana’s preferred style of play. Milwaukee overcame a 19-point Pacers lead to force overtime behind a miraculous Khris Middleton three-pointer, and another to tie the game with 6.7 seconds left in overtime.

However, the Pacers countered everything the Bucks threw at them and prevented Milwaukee from stealing one on their home floor. With Tyrese Haliburton forced off the ball, Indiana placed Pascal Siakam on the same side of the ball to further extend Haliburton’s runway behind the three-point line.

“We’ve got to look at ways to counter the things they’re doing and vice versa,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “It’s going to keep going like that — back and forth, back and forth. … The ball movement is very important. We’ve got to remind ourselves to play with pace and move it.”

Indiana is continuing to display that it’s the high-caliber passing team it was in the regular season, leading the playoffs in assists (29.0), secondary assists (5.5) and potential assists (51.5) per game.

“In Game 1, we had a little segment on ‘one more,’ just being better at making the extra pass,” Haliburton said. “We’ve done a great job with these last two games getting guys open shots. When the ball is moving, everyone is touching it, getting open shots, the energy is just right — even if you’re not making them. I like to say the energy you put in the ball is important. I think every basketball player in the world can learn from that.”

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Haliburton hasn’t put up big scoring numbers in the series against Milwaukee and he made just 8-of-22 field goal attempts in Game 3, but that didn’t stop the Pacers guard from having the confidence to take the game-winning shot, Iko writes in the same piece. “Just knew I was shooting it, no matter what,” Haliburton said. “Didn’t know what I was going to get to, just based off of feel out there. .. Finally made a shot. I couldn’t buy a bucket today. Glad that one went in.“
The already shorthanded Bucks got more bad news with Damian Lillard going down going down and grabbing his left knee in obvious pain. “It just happened so fast as I was landing,” Lillard said, per Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “My foot was gonna do one thing and when all his weight came down on my foot it kind of twisted me up. It was painful, initially, so I just stayed down.” Lillard returned to the game and knew he would deal with discomfort, but didn’t believe he was at risk of making the injury worse. Unfortunately, Lillard aggravated his Achilles tendon with 9.3 seconds left in regulation. Lillard told coach Doc Rivers he didn’t have any explosiveness in overtime but hopes that he can get some back before Game 4. He’s likely to be listed as questionable for Game 4.
Middleton was on the injury report for the Bucks ahead of Game 3 with an ankle sprain that occurred in the first quarter of Game 2. That made his 42-point outing all the more impressive, The Athletic’s Eric Nehm writes. “Just who he is, man,” teammate Bobby Portis said. “Just a testament to being resilient and just being a team player, man. Obviously, we’re already down Giannis [Antetokounmpo], so I just think he understood the moment, the situation and rose to the occasion. Some guys can be questionable and be out there limping or acting like this and that, but he was full cash money today and it was good to see him hit those big shots.” With Antetokounmpo possibly out for Game 4 and Lillard ailing, the Bucks will continue to look to Middleton for answers on offense.
After a historically disappointing season, the Pistons should look to acquire two-way veterans to help propel their team, Sam Vecenie and James L. Edwards III write. Vecenie compares the situation to last year’s Rockets, who improved tremendously without sacrificing assets by adding Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks.

Sixers’ Maxey Named Most Improved Player

April 23rd, 2024 at 6:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award for the 2023/24 season, the league’s communications department tweets.

Maxey edged out Bulls guard Coby White for the award. Maxey received 51 of 99 first-place votes while recording 319 voting points. White had just 32 first-place votes, but showed up on more ballots (91) than Maxey (79) and compiled 305 points.

The third finalist, Rockets center Alperen Sengun, was a distant third with six first-place votes and 92 points.

Thunder forward Jalen Williams and Knicks guard Jalen Brunson finished fourth and fifth, respectively, according to the NBA, which revealed the full voting results on Twitter.

A total of 14 players appeared on at least one ballot, with Wizards forward Deni Avdija and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton each earning one first-place vote.

Maxey, who is expected to sign a maximum-salary contract this offseason as a restricted free agent, ranked 11th in the NBA in points per game (+5.6 PPG from last season) and 20th in assists per game (+2.7 APG from last season). The first-time All-Star also made a career-high 212 three-pointers, up from 160 last season.

Maxey recorded three games of 50 or more points, tied for the most in the NBA. Those were the first 50-point games of his four-year career.

Maxey is the first member of the Sixers to win the award since Dana Barros was the leading vote-getter for the 1994/95 season.

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