Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers gave NBA fans an explosive game-winning moment days ago, but he hasn’t been as productive as he’d like.
Even with that historic and eye-popping bucket in the last seconds of Game 1, Haliburton’s numbers have been soft during the Finals in one particular area.
Writing for ESPN, Jamal Collier summed up how the Oklahoma City Thunder are getting the best of Haliburton during this championship battle.
“A key for Oklahoma City has been limiting Haliburton’s ability to get in the paint. According to ESPN Research, Haliburton touched the paint on 9 of his 100 touches (9.0%) in Game 2 after touching the paint in 7 of his 108 touches in Game 1 (6.5%), his two lowest percentages in 18 playoff games this season,” Collier wrote.
The Thunder know that Haliburton is nothing but trouble when he gets into the paint, so they are doing everything in their power to stop him from reaching his destination.
In both Games 1 and 2, the Thunder smothered Haliburton.
They stayed on top of him for nearly every possession, and for good reason, because he can be incredibly damaging when he is shooting well.
He can score from distance, of course, but Haliburton is also threatening when he carves a path to the bucket through the paint.
On Sunday, he finished with 17 points and six assists, but only put up three points and three assists in the first half.
Haliburton knows he will have to do more in the games ahead.
The Thunder know they have a good approach to stopping him, so he will have to be strategic and clever and change his approach.
The Thunder have been praised for their defense all season long, and they are not going to go easy on the Pacers now.
Can the team and their star player figure out more ways to score since the paint is seemingly off-limits now?
NEXT: LeBron James Has High Praise For 1 Pacers Player