Here’s Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton breaking down his approach offensively after Tuesday’s 115-102 home win vs. the Houston Rockets (28 points/3 rebounds/15 assists/1 steal/9-16 FG/5-8 3-PT/5-5 FT/+20 +/-).
*six straight games with double-doubles in points and assists*
(via Indiana Pacers):
“I just feel like it’s the game within the game. Every game I enjoy the challenge and kinda the chess match with opposing players and opposing coaches, and that’s what I really love about the game of basketball. Not to get too nerdy, but coming down, I didn’t know how they were going to match up because Ime [Udoka] is really interesting, a really genius defensive mind. So coming into the game, I was prepared for them to put [Alperen] Sengun on somebody else. Maybe Andrew [Nembhard] or how they were going to match up. So I was just trying to find the right ways to make plays, and I feel like I really got myself going there in the first half.
“Towards the end of that first half, second half, I could really start to feel like a blitz was coming, so I just tried to make the right play as many times as I could. That’s the beautiful part of our game is now they are blitzing, now I get to do what I really like to do is pass the ball and make reads and just trying to have fun with it. That’s really the game within the game, so I’m just enjoying (it). Every game’s a little different, the defenders I see are a little bit different. Some games, teams might switch 1-5. Some teams might blitz 1-5. Some teams might be in a heavy drop, might be at the level. Every team poses a little different, and so, I’ve just gotta be prepared for whatever that is.”
