Tyrese Haliburton Was At His Best In Game 1 Vs Cavaliers
The Indiana Pacers walked into Cleveland on Sunday and stunned the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference, dominating Game 1 for a 121-112 win.
The key piece for Indiana, as it so often is, was Tyrese Haliburton. The Pacers superstar was the focal point on offense, racking up 22 points and 13 assists in 36 minutes, but it was his defense that really stood out. Haliburton has faced plenty of criticism for his defensive play, but there he was locking down Donavan Mitchell and Ty Jerome in the 4th quarter of Game 1.
This is exactly the type of play the Pacers are going to need from Haliburton if they want to make some serious noise in these NBA Playoffs. He might never be considered an elite defender, but if he can at least be serviceable on that end of the court while still maintaining his aggression and ability to facilitate on the offensive side, the Pacers can beat just about anybody.
During the Monday edition of The Ride With JMV, Eddie Gill from the Pacers Radio Network joined and gave his thoughts on how Haliburton played against the Cavs.
“Last night, I saw him play the best one-on-one defense I’ve seen him play in that 4th quarter. He had a handful of possessions against Ty Jerome, one or two possessions against Donavan Mitchell where it was just good, one-on-one defense, he kept his chest in front of a guy, and in some of those possessions he was able to end it with a steal and/or a blocked shots, so he did both. I thought he was terrific obviously offensively with some of the closing plays that he made on that end, but man, I was really impressed with what he did defensively, after being critical of his defense really since he’s been a Pacer.”
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