Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton struggled mightily in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. And Stephen A. Smith had seen enough at halftime, suggesting that he should sit himself down because his performance was hurting the team.
The point guard, who is putting up one of the great clutch postseasons in NBA history, including the Game 1 winner at the buzzer, has been dealing with a calf injury that clearly bothered him in Game 5. Haliburton was 0-6 from the field in 34 minutes, scoring just 4 points and dishing 6 assists. For the series, he is averaging 15.0 PPG and 7.2 APG.
With Haliburton scoreless at halftime, Shams Charania shared the extent of his calf injury which even caused him to briefly leave Game 5 in the first half. ESPN NBA analysts Kendrick Perkins and Stephen A. Smith showed no mercy. Perkins said that Haliburton was playing “scared to death,” and Smith awkwardly said that he was glad he was injured because it at least gave an explanation for his poor performance.
Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins both went in on an injured Tyrese Haliburton at halftime of Game 5.
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— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing.bsky.social) June 17, 2025 at 9:45 AM
But that wasn’t all. Both Perkins and Smith were adamant that Haliburton should be taken out of the game if he wasn’t fully healthy.
Stephen A. Smith on Tyrese Haliburton: “HE LOOKS BAD! HE WAS NOT ACTIVE! HE WAS NOT AGGRESSIVE! AND NOW THAT WE KNOW THAT HE’S NOT HEALTHY, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH BIG PERK! SIT HIM DOWN! GET HIM READY FOR GAME 6!… HE AIN’T HELPING THE TEAM! HE’S NOT HELPING THEM!” #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/nSsX2y3US8
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 17, 2025
The vociferous criticism of Tyrese Haliburton trying to gut it out through an injury was unrelenting and, honestly, tough to watch. Perkins said he didn’t want to hear any excuses. Stephen A. Smith was yelling about how bad he was playing. It was an avalanche of negativity, which is no surprise if you follow the NBA on a regular basis.
But if you were watching at home, you might be wondering what the reaction would be at halftime had Haliburton and the Pacers actually sat him out to rest him for Game 6. Would Smith and Perkins actually be supportive of that decision, or would they also find a way to criticize the Pacers star for not trying to play through injury?
Well, we only have to rewind back one month ago in these very same playoffs to find our answer.
During the second round of the playoffs, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland missed the first two games against the Pacers with a toe injury. Indiana won both of those games in Cleveland to take a 2-0 series lead and wouldn’t look back. After Game 2, Smith destroyed Garland for not playing through injury on First Take, saying you’ve gotta be “damn near crippled if you can’t play.”
Stephen A. Smith: “Darius Garland, a toe injury is significant, it can be very painful, I understand that. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve gotta be damn near crippled if you can’t play. You’ve gotta find a way to get out there… pad the toe, wear an extra sized shoe. Do… pic.twitter.com/nWVvxLTwxW
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 7, 2025
For his part, Kendrick Perkins took to X after the Cavs were eliminated and told Garland to hit the weight room this offseason and improve his mental toughness because of how disappointed he was in his playoff performance.
Darius Garland has to hit the weight room this Off-Season and get stronger and get mentally tough. Very disappointed in that young man this postseason
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) May 14, 2025
So which is it? Should NBA stars play through injury and find any way possible to get on the court, even if their limbs are hanging by a thread and they may not be at their best? Or should they sit out and rest until they are fully healthy, so they don’t have a negative impact on the team? Unsurprisingly, Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins want to have it both ways.
Smith did walk back his comments a bit on Tuesday’s episode of First Take, placing the blame on Pacers coach Rick Carlisle for not pulling Haliburton in favor of backup point guard T.J. McConnell, who had another strong game off the bench. But that same energy was obviously missing from the Garland conversation just a month earlier. It wasn’t Kenny Atkinson that got the brunt of Smith and Perkins’ criticism. It was Garland.
Maybe there’s a perfect world where Tyrese Haliburton limps on the floor and puts up a triple-double until he has to be stretchered off by the Pacers’ medical staff so that everyone can satisfy Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins.
But the truth is, whatever the situation, today’s NBA stars just can’t ever make the right decision for some of the sport’s most prominent figures.