The beef between Tim Hardaway and Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton lives on. When the retired guard dished some criticism, Haliburton responded to Hardaway's trash talk on social media.
However, the back-and-forth between the two hasn't stopped. Mostly, Hardaway has been the one who has initiated the trash talk. On the Run It Back FDTV show, he added more fuel to the fire toward the Pacers guard.
“He talks a little bit too much,” Hardaway said. “If there's one guy that I want to go play against, I wanna go play against him in my prime. Just shut up and play man, because you're not really like that.”
Even though Hardaway's comments were meant to sting, they might not do too much, or anything to Haliburton. After all, he's busy leading the Pacers back to the playoffs.
Indiana sits comfortably at the fifth seed, with a 35-27 record. Much like last season, the Pacers have a top-rated offense and are in the Top 10 for points per game, and offensive rating.
However, Hardaway feels that Haliburton's game is annoying. While trash talk is a part of the game, he feels there a certain respect involved.
On the flip side, the former Golden State Warriors guard was notorious for trash talking in his day, and no one batted an eye. Still, there might be a different reason as to why.
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Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton isn't worried about Tim Hardaway
The Pacers have bigger fish to fry, and Haliburton specifically. He is the franchise player for his team, and has Indiana in a prime position. After making the Eastern Conference Finals last season, they are hoping to go back.
After a shaky start to the season, the Iowa State guard has picked up where he left off. He's averaging 18.5 points and 8.9 assists per game. Not to mention, his shooting splits (46.8% FGA, 39% 3FGA) are impressive.
Head coach Rick Carlisle has let the guard thrive in his system of pace and space. With guys like newcomer Obi Toppin and veteran Myles Turner on the team, the Pacers have a nice blend.
While Haliburton will likely continue to talk trash, his game backs it up. He's not flashy like Hardaway was in his prime. Still, he gets the job done and is one of the most complete players in his position.
Even Stephen Curry has offered Haliburton advice on how to be a superstar. There might be a learning curve still, but his production backs up what he is talking about.