Sports

Tyrese Haliburton Found His Groove And The Pacers Look Dangerous

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By
Ben Pfeifer
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Ben Pfeifer Sports Editor

Ben Pfeifer graduated from the University of Missouri with degrees in Psychology and Journalism. He has worked in basketball scouting covering the NBA and the draft for over a half-decade, working for various outlets. Now, he covers the NBA, the draft and high school basketball.

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Sports Editor

Published10 Mar 2025

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Tyrese Haliburton

For over a year now, the Indiana Pacers have been waiting for the answer to a franchise-defining question: Will Tyrese Haliburton ever return to peak form? Haliburton drove Indiana’s historic offense in late 2023, garnering fringe MVP consideration as a primary initiator. That peak didn’t last long, ended by an injury, which nagged Haliburton for months to come.

Back and lower body injuries compounded to depress Haliburton’s production, clearly zapping his burst. He wasn’t himself in the 2024 playoffs nor to begin the 2024-25 season, creating some cause for concern in Indiana. If Haliburton never plays like an All-NBA initiator again, this version of the Pacers faces a nearly impossible path to contention, especially after trading for Pascal Siakam.

Haliburton and the Pacers are one of the NBA’s hottest teams, overcoming a sluggish start. Haliburton’s individual struggles embodied his team’s issues; he averaged 17.6 points and 8.6 assists on 57.3 percent true shooting and 34.5 percent from deep before the new year. This version of Haliburton often played passively to the detriment of his team, struggling to bend defenses off the dribble as he once did.

Fortunately for the Pacers, Haliburton’s play is sharply ascending late into the season. He’s on a maniacal tear, averaging 19.4 points and 9.8 assists on a scorching 66.5 percent true shooting clip since the beginning of February. Those numbers balloon to 22.2 points and 10.8 assists on 71.2 percent true shooting over his last 10 games. Estimated Plus-Minus views him as a top-20 player (plus-3.5) and a top-six offensive player (plus-4.5), only slightly below his sparkling 2024 season.

He’s finally shooting closer to his 2023-24 peak, bombing away from range off of the dribble. He’s one of the NBA’s most efficient unassisted 3-point shooters, forcing defenses to guard him far beyond the 3-point line. Haliuburton attempts 5.7 off-dribble threes per game, sinking them at an excellent 37.2 percent clip.

Elite distance shooting unlocks the rest of his slashing game. His shotmaking threat lets him burn a variety of defensive coverages, frying drop defenses giving up the pull-up three. With some of his quickness returned, he punishes switch-heavy defenses, creating wonky off-dribble jumpers against weaker opponents.

Partly because of his early season slump, Haliburton is carrying far less usage than ever before in his Pacer career. Among the last three seasons, he has posted low-water marks in usage rate (21.1 percent), assist rate (36.8 percent) and on-ball percent (34 percent) this year. His usage hasn’t changed much over his recent tear, still sitting at 21.8 percent across his last 10, but his assist rate skyrocketed up to 45.4 percent. 

Haliburton passes with absurd efficiency, maximizing every playmaking opportunity. His teammates are converting their shots, but he consistently places the ball in optimal positions for them to score. The Pacers expose teams with slow-footed big men, as Haliburton dominates as a passer against drop coverage. Even against stout defenses, his driving helps open up passing lanes for easy shots.

Slashing aggression is the biggest change from his early season woes, which date back to last season. Early in the year, he played passively to a fault, turning down chances to drive and score to the detriment of his offense. Across his last 10 games, Haliburton is averaging 11.1 drives and converting 62.2 percent of his shots on those drives. Before the All-Star break, he finished 56 percent of his shots on 10.9 drives per game.

Improved confidence, athleticism and physicality transformed Haliburton’s game to one closer to his apex. He’s always been a phenomenal finisher, converting a career-high 70.1 percent of his shots at the hoop this season. When he slashes aggressively, the Pacers tend to benefit from his touch scoring and playmaking.

Earlier in the season, he often didn’t care about scoring, neglecting to peek at the rim before trying to pass out of his on-ball opportunities. He looks like a completely different player now, constantly pushing the pace downhill and attacking favorable matchups for easy buckets in the paint.

His confidence and athletic twitch have rejuvenated him on the defensive end, where he’s playing some of his best ball in a long time. He currently boasts a rolling Defensive EPM of plus-1.2, by far the highest of the season. It’s his highest estimated defensive impact since December 2022 and the tape backs this up.

Especially off the ball, Haliburton defends confidently, intercepting passes and zoning off multiple options in help defense. Before his most recent contest against the Houston Rockets, he recorded three or more steals in five straight games. evidence of his defensive playmaking chops. Some of these off-ball defensive reads from Haliburton lately are sublime.

This version of Haliburton makes the Pacers an undeniable threat in the Eastern Conference. They made the conference finals last year and he’s playing much closer to his best self than he was last postseason. He and Siakam are one of the NBA’s most potent offensive duos, further accentuated by an aggressive Haliburton.

Haliburton scored 20 or fewer points in 10 of his 15 playoff games last season. Indiana’s roster depth and some fortunate injury luck carried the Pacers regardless, but they’re much more threatening with this version of Haliburton. He’s playing like a top-20 player in the NBA right now and that’s enough to give them a chance against any team in the East.