The wonder that is Haliburton
Celtics fans may have first become aware of the mastery of Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton when he drained that stepback 3-pointer despite contact from Jaylen Brown to seal the In-Season Tournament quarterfinal win Dec. 4. Haliburton’s ascension to top-level point guard began during his early years with the Kings and he’s catapulted to a franchise cornerstone in his short time with the Pacers.
The possible downside to Indiana’s run to the In-Season Tournament final is it’s no longer a dark horse. Teams will be prepared for its high-scoring, uptempo style with Haliburton and friends launching threes.
“I don’t think [being underestimated] really happens anymore,” Haliburton said. “I think last year we snuck up on teams. Teams didn’t really know what to expect. I think now when you play the Pacers, you know what to expect. You know we’re going to run. You’d better have your track shoes ready, be ready to run with us, and we’re going to score and the game is going to be up and down.
“I think teams know what to expect at this point.”
The Pacers are a second-tier team in the East that could pull off a playoff upset or two. Management is expected to upgrade the roster by the trade deadline.
Team president Kevin Pritchard’s moves — signing Bruce Brown and acquiring Obi Toppin, nabbing Aaron Nesmith from the Celtics, drafting Bennedict Mathurin — have worked. His most daring move was acquiring Haliburton from the Kings in the controversial deal for All-Star center Domantas Sabonis at the 2022 trade deadline. It has worked for both teams.
“I think teams know what to expect when we come in the gym, and I don’t think anybody is taking us lightly,” Haliburton said. “I think just paying attention to what has worked for us and understanding that we can beat anybody. We’ve proven that. I think just ultimately, it’s same as always. You go back, watch the film on this game, see what we can learn from that, and just keep growing.
“That’s the great thing about playing 82 games. I know everybody thinks they’re like a genius to say that we need to play more defense or whatever the case may be, but that’s the great thing about 82 games, is we get time to grow in that. Our offense, we get time to grow in that, as well. That’s the beautiful thing about the NBA and basketball in general.”
The Celtics face the Pacers three times in January. The question for Indiana is whether it’s prepared to take the next step, similar to the rising Magic, who entered Friday third in the East. Haliburton said the Pacers have to be patient but can’t be complacent after early success.
“I think just keep growing, keep learning, and not viewing the season, and I think it’s easy for a young team to look — especially now that we’ve tasted some success to look so far ahead and be like, ‘Oh, by the time we get to February . . . By the time we get to the playoffs,’ ” he said. “It can’t be that. It’s got to be what’s in front us. We understand that.”
By the way, Haliburton is a big fan of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, a close friend from their Iowa State days.
“Me and Brock went to school together,” Haliburton said with a smile. “Came into school together. We both started both as freshmen. That’s somebody I can really call a friend. To see what he’s doing and succeeding the way he is, that’s really cool to see, especially being from Iowa State where it’s not a school that’s expected to have this much success at the professional level in any sport.
“It’s cool to see my brother do well. And yeah, from the moment that he started out, I was showing him nothing but love. It was cool, in college, Coach [Matt] Campbell, the football coach, we used to have leadership meetings, me, Brock, and Coach Campbell, and we had a book we’d read and we used to talk about different stuff. That was cool.
“Just seeing him succeed and seeing him doing what he’s doing, it means a lot to me and it means a lot to Iowa State fans, in general, to see us guys doing that. Hopefully it’s a good recruiting tool for the Cyclones moving forward.”
Layups
Attending the announcement where the Connecticut Sun will play a WNBA regular-season game Aug. 20 at TD Garden was Sun center Brionna Jones,
who told the Globe her recovery from a torn Achilles’ is going well and she should be healthy when training camp begins in April. Jones was injured June 20 and sidelined for the run to the semifinals. They lost in four games to the Liberty. Jones’s addition could make the Sun a title contender, challenging New York and the two-time defending champion Aces . . . Speaking of Las Vegas, there is momentum generating that one of two NBA expansion teams expected to be added will be in Las Vegas. The NBA played the semifinals and finals of the In-Season Tournament at T-Mobile Arena, home of the NHL’s Golden Knights, but a potential NBA team would play at a new arena. Silver won’t comment or confirm that Las Vegas is a certainty but it appears it’s a serious candidate, along with Seattle . . . The Cavaliers sustained a significant blow when point guard Darius Garland
sustained a broken jaw Thursday in a collision with the Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis. Garland staggered for a moment, rose to his feet, then went to the locker room. He returned and hit a key 3-pointer to end the third quarter. His broken jaw wasn’t diagnosed until after the game. The Cavaliers are short at point guard with expected backup
Ricky Rubio out indefinitely to focus on his mental health. It’s uncertain when Rubio will return, and the Cavaliers are likely going to have to get another point guard with Garland out at least a month. Donovan Mitchell has played point guard but is a natural shooting guard. Cleveland was expected to build on last year’s playoff appearance but has been besieged by injuries. The Cavaliers are expected to lose center Evan Mobley for two months because of knee surgery. Former Celtic Tristan Thompson, who returned to the team that drafted him, is likely to get more minutes with Mobley out. He’s in better shape than in his Celtics stint and still has a knack for offensive rebounds.