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Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton reflected on his inconsistency to open the 2024-25 season.
“I got too caught up in outside noise and allowing myself to think such negative thoughts about myself internally,” Haliburton told Jared Weiss and Sam Amick of The Athletic. “It was the first time in my life that I had real self-doubt behind everything I was doing. … I feel like my personal struggles were leading to the team’s struggles. A lot of our games early, that we were right there to win, I just wasn’t playing my best basketball and I think that was taking away from us winning games.”
The point guard also brought up criticism that the Pacers faced on social media after they started the year with a 9-14 record through 23 games.
“[Fans] can’t wait for a team to be doing bad so people can dunk on you on Twitter, you know what I mean? The s–t is so stupid,” Haliburton said, per Weiss and Amick. “It’s just part of it. People want to see us not do well so they can talk s–t.”
Expectations were high for the 24-year-old entering the regular season, as he made All-Star appearances in each of the prior two years and helped lead Indiana to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance to wrap up the team’s 2023-24 campaign.
Haliburton struggled out of the gate, averaging 15.3 points and 8.5 assists per game while shooting just 37.5 percent from the field and 28.4 percent from three-point territory through his first 15 appearances.
Health may have played a role in his slow start, as Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor reported on Nov. 5 that the 24-year-old was dealing with back spasms that lingered from Indiana’s prior postseason run.
Haliburton has looked more like his former self as of late, recording 19.5 points and 9.6 assists per game on 48.1/40.7/84.3 shooting splits over his past 15 starts. It’s not a coincidence that the Pacers hold a record of 11-4 and own the third-best offensive rating in the association over that same span (via NBA.com).
Indiana still sits at No. 7 in the East with a 20-18 overall record, but the resurgence of Haliburton as well as the team’s offense gives the Pacers a bright outlook for the remainder of the regular season.
