The NBA is a league dominated by superstars, and the vicissitudes of the sea show the true colors of heroes, and the wind and waves are more mainstay! In this year's playoffs, MVP-level superstars such as James, Curry, Durant, Harden, Wei Shao, and Brother Alphabet went out early for various reasons, and the NBA has become a stage for young people to sing the leading role, and the new generation of stars such as SGA of the Thunder, Jokic of the Nuggets, Huazi of the Timberwolves, Doncic of the Mavericks, and Brunson of the Knicks are sharp and shine! As the playoffs go deeper, Haliburton, the star of the Indiana Pacers, is also getting better, cashing in on the talent of the modern point guard god!
Haliburton is not Harry Potter, but he writes extraordinary legends with seemingly mediocre talents. Haliburton's ball IQ may be the highest among the rookies in the class of 2020, but due to his thin stature and humble personality, he suffered a waterloo in the draft and was not selected by the Kings until the 12th pick! At the same time, the Kings have Fox, the ball-handling core in the backcourt, and Haliburton can only be reduced to the best supporting role! Haliburton thought that he would be an obscure backcourt second-in-command, but the Kings still ruthlessly put him on the shelf in the middle of the 2021-22 season as a bargaining chip for Xiaosa, never thinking that this deal would completely change the trajectory of Haliburton's career!
The Pacers are in ruins, and Haliburton shines in his first full season (22-23 season), Harry played in 56 games, averaging 20.7 points + 10.4 assists per game, touching the All-Star floor for the first time in his career, and almost snatched the assist king trophy from Harden! If the Pacers get a treasure, they will give Haliburton a five-year $204 million super cap salary contract for the first time in the offseason, and Haliburton is on an equal footing with the champion Huazi and Tanhua in terms of salary! This big contract is a compliment and a big gamble for Haliburton, who also carries the dream and hope of the Pacers' rise. Luckily, the old coach Carlisle knows how to make good use of people and uses a perfect system to make Haliburton to the next level!
This season, the Pacers have made a splash in the East, returning to the playoffs with a 47-35 record. Offense is the foundation of the Pacers' survival, and the scoring (123.3 points), assists (30.8), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4) and shooting percentage (50.7%) all rank first in the league, which is closely related to Haliburton's push! Haliburton averaged 20.1 points + 10.9 assists per game (1st in the league), was selected into the All-Star starting team for the first time in his career, and won the regular season assist king with an absolute advantage! The Pacers defeated the Bucks 4-2 in the first round to advance, winning the series for the first time in 10 years. At the moment, they and the Knicks drew 2-2 in the Eastern Conference semifinals with the Knicks, and considering the Knicks' injury and load problems, they have every chance to reach the Eastern Conference Finals! In this process, the playoff rookie Haliburton is getting better and better, and he has lived up to his mission!
So far in the playoffs, Haliburton has played in 10 games, averaging 19.1 points + 5.3 rebounds + 8.5 assists (4th in the league) + 1.2 steals + 3.5 three-pointers (3rd in the league), and the three-point shooting rate is 36.5%. Among them, in the first round of G3, Haliburton contributed a big triple-double of 18 points + 10 rebounds + 16 assists, and the number of assists hit a new career high in the playoffs; In the first round of G4, Haliburton scored 24 points + 4 rebounds + 4 assists + 5 three-pointers; In the second round of G2, Haliburton scored 34 points + 6 rebounds + 9 assists + 7 three-pointers; In the second round of G3, Haliburton scored 35 points + 4 rebounds + 7 assists + 6 three-pointers; In the second round of G4, Haliburton contributed 20 points + 6 rebounds + 5 assists + 4 three-pointers! At the same time, Haliburton also set a number of NBA god records.
Statistically, Haliburton is the fourth player in Pacers history to record a triple-double in the playoffs, the first three being George, Oladipo and Mark Jackson. At the same time, Haliburton is the second player in Pacers history to score at least 30 points + 5 rebounds + 5 assists + 5 three-pointers in a single playoff game, and the first is George. In another statistic, Haliburton became the first player since George in 2014 to score at least 35 points + 6 three-pointers in a single game in the playoffs! This is Haliburton, a small body with great power, he can control the game like a magician, see the moves, can kill people with a string of three-pointers, but also send exquisite passes to teammates! Perhaps, this is why the Pacers did not hesitate to give him a five-year, $204 million maximum salary contract.
Haliburton went on a rampage to drag the series into the Kings Mountain battle, but they weren't going to be satisfied with that! In the words of Pacers coach Carlisle, we're just doing our job, we're a long way from the goal, and it's not the time to sing the praises of how good the team is. Haliburton also put down his arrogance, he said: We all know the importance of Tianwang Mountain, I will be ready for this game for 48 minutes! It has to be said that Haliburton, who is in his best form, is blooming, and the Knicks, who are full of wounds, should be careful. Fans, what do you think about this? Leave me a comment to discuss.