LAS VEGAS — Remember when it seemed like everyone wanted out of the Indiana Pacers?
Big man Myles Turner is so desperate for greener pastures in December 2021 that he spoke publicly about his desire for “more opportunities” — a rarity in today’s NBA — and shared his view that he used as a “glorified role player.” Veteran guard Buddy Hield failed to reach an extension agreement with the Pacers this summer, then found himself in the headlines when our Shams Charania reported that both sides were attempting to seek a trade. The only time we talk about the Pacers on the national stage, it seems, is when it involves possible roster changes or when a Memphis Grizzlies star and his teammates have a problematic postgame situation with the Pacers player who has been at the center of the league’s investigation.
To tour their locker room these days is to truly understand the impact of Tyrese Haliburton. It’s like being at a house party that no one on the Pacers wants to end, where the 23-year-old point guard works the turntables so well that everyone wants to get off the couch and snuggle.
That was the case again Thursday at T-Mobile Arena, where their 128-119 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in the In-Season Tournament (IST) semifinals only intensified the spotlight that has grown brighter in recent weeks. Haliburton, who played early in the MVP conversation, produced a 27-point, 15-assist, zero-turnover outing that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo described as “amazing” and included a historic result . While 11 players had games of at least 27 points, 15 assists and no turnovers, only Haliburton has done it twice (the first was less than two months ago). And lest anyone forget, he was three days removed from the 26-point, 13-assist, 10-rebound, zero-turnover showing in the IST quarterfinal win over the Boston Celtics.
What he’s doing is simply absurd at this point, with team officials and members of the media alike struggling to agree on a player comp that properly projects to his ceiling. Stephen Curry has been mentioned internally as a leading candidate — albeit prematurely. Longtime NBA writer and coach David Thorpe makes an interesting argument already he is James Harden 2.0. Haliburton’s latest masterpiece inspired an endorsement from Pacers great Reggie Miller that may carry more weight than anything else.
“We are witnessing a superstar in the making,” Miller said of Haliburton, who is averaging 26.9 points and a league-leading 12.9 assists per game.
“We are witnessing a superstar in the making.” – Reggie Miller on Tyrese Haliburton pic.twitter.com/FWW234Au8p
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) December 8, 2023
But beyond the basketball talk, it was the way Haliburton’s teammates celebrated his success that may be the best indicator of what lies ahead. Pacers smiles that were not seen in the past are everywhere now. The wisecracks, also absent at the time when rumors of rebuilding caused uncertainty and some discontent, were consistent.
With Haliburton in front, they were fast. They are fun. They are feisty (porous defense be darned). They are…
“Invigorating,” as Turner put it.
The 27-year-old knows what he’s talking about.
Midway through his seventh season in Indiana, Turner has so disenfranchised his place in the Pacers’ world that he’s ready for something new. But just a month after he aired those frustrations for the entire basketball world to hear, the Sacramento deal that brought Haliburton (and Hield) changed everything. The departure of center Domantas Sabonis to Sacramento returns Turner to his preferred position, while giving him a point guard with the rare ability to elevate the offensive talents of everyone around him.
“I think we personally won the trade, but I’m biased of course,” Turner said The Athletic. “I think it was mutually beneficial. (Kings guard De’Aaron) Fox got something he needed, and I got the point guard I needed.”
Tyrese Haliburton drives the lane against Bucks center Brook Lopez. (Kyle Terada/USA Today)
And over time, as he recalled, everything clicked.
“Those days when I was playing four (with Sabonis before Haliburton arrived), those were dark days for me because I wasn’t happy,” Turner said. “I did not enjoy my role very much. I don’t really enjoy a lot of the scrutiny that comes with playing out of position. … It’s not all bad, but it’s certainly not good.”
Hield was in that kind of place not too long ago, as well. The uncertainty surrounding his contract naturally led to questions about how the Pacers viewed him, and so he pondered the possible next steps that could come. Less than three months later, his hoops worldview — much like Turner’s — had changed for the better.
“It’s crazy,” said Hield, who is averaging 13.3 points and shooting 38.8 percent from 3-point range on 7.4 attempts per game. “I guess, in the NBA season, we’re all human. You always have a thought in the back of your head. When it’s bad, you think twice. But when it’s beautiful, you don’t think twice, you know? And it’s a long time, so you just have to enjoy it, let God control what he controls. Let him handle (the future), and all you have to do is control what you control on the basketball court.”
The change of mood, of course, has something to do with Haliburton. From “no-star” recruit the Iowa State standout, 12th pick in the 2020 draft and rising NBA star, he’s doing the kinds of things even his teammates admit they don’t expect.
“He always gets mad at me when I always tell him, ‘Yo, I never saw this (coming)'” Hield said. “But when you shoot the 3-ball well, it opens up a lot for you offensively. And when you have vision and deception, anticipation or whatever you want to call it, it’s (impactful).
“He thinks two plays ahead of the defender, and that’s elite. He just brings it out. He’s special.”
How special are you? Time will tell.
“When you talk about controlling the game, being super smart out there, IQ, he’s got it all,” said Pacers guard Bruce Brown, who won a title with the Denver Nuggets last season with two-time MVP Nikola Jokić before signing with Indiana over the summer. “I mean, what, he had 15 assists tonight with no turnovers? That’s not happening. I just saw that with Nikola. In a few years…”
However, the focus for now is on the next few days. An In-Season Tournament title game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, and another chance for these Pacers (12-8) to shine in front of the masses, is next.
“I think we’re shocking the world right now,” Haliburton said. “Nobody expected us to be here except for the guys in the locker room. That means a lot to us, so it feels good.”
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(Top photo of Myles Turner and Tyrese Haliburton: Jeff Bottari / NBAE via Getty Images)
