Is the Tyrese Haliburton Criticism Deserved?

Haliburton averages 16 points on dangerously inefficient metrics. Regarding standard shooting metrics, the Pacers' point guard converts only 38 percent from the field and 28 percent from 3. 

Now, for the advanced stats enthusiasts, Haliburton relays the stats of an inefficient chucker, which conflicts with what the scouting reports told us about the point guard people fell in love with before the 2020 NBA Draft.

Haliburton records a 50 true shooting percentage, seven percent less than the 2024-25 season's league average. Moreover, Haliburton's 46 effective field goal percentage also falls under seven percent of the NBA normality. Haliburton leads the Pacers in 3-point attempts at 7.9, but his confidence seldom shows despite the attempts. 

While questioning a player's heart, especially after such a winning season, is deservingly taboo, something is off about Haliburton. 

One notable difference in Haliburton's game, which the stats communicate, occurs on the shot chart. The 2024-25 season reveals that Haliburton hasn't attacked the rim at the rate of previous seasons. 

Haliburton attempts a mere .085 percent of his field goals within three feet of the rim. Although such a stat doesn't provide clarity if he's executing drive-and-kicks, it alludes to the hesitancy in Haliburton's attack. Moreover, his lack of assists suggests he's not steering the offense as firmly as last season. 

Haliburton had flashes in the 2024 playoffs when other players, like Andrew Nembhard, took the reigns from the star point guard in the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics before the star guard's hamstring issues triggered in the later games of the series. 

Another stat that triggers alarms is the distance of his shots. According to Basketball Reference, Haliburton's average distance from which he shoots is 19.5 feet. Outside of the paint and in the mid-range, Haliburton is stuck in basketball purgatory. Unlike Kawhi Leonard, DeMar DeRozan, Devin Booker, and Luka Doncic, Haliburton isn't a mid-range savant.

Ultimately, he hasn't lived up to his star reputation, which he grew over the offseason, mainly by beating the New York Knicks in the 2024 playoffs. Furthermore, the emergence of Bennedict Mathurin as a second-half force puts Haliburton's struggles on a higher plain for many to see. 

Although it's not too late for Haliburton to recover for the 2024-25 season, the hole he dug due to poor play doesn't have much ground left before it caves in on the potentially flash-in-the-pan star.