The Pacers and Thunder begin a highly anticipated NBA Finals on Thursday night. In order for the Pacers to take down the vaunted Thunder, they will need a great series from their star player, Tyrese Haliburton.
This is a look into whether or not Haliburton will record a triple-double in the NBA Finals.
Tyrese Haliburton to Record a Triple-Double in an NBA Finals Game (+500)
Tyrese Haliburton is currently 5/1 at DraftKings Sportsbook to record a triple-double in an NBA Finals game. In a league built on superstars, the Pacers are a fascinating case study. Haliburton is their star player, although Eastern Conference Finals MVP Pascal Siakam is a fantastic offensive weapon as well. Largely, it is a team effort from the Pacers, more than almost any team in the NBA. While Haliburton hit the incredible game-tying shot at the buzzer against the Knicks in Game 1, it was Aaron Nesmith who went on an insane individual run of three-pointers to get the Pacers back into the game. In some games in the series, it was Siakam who led the way, in some it was Haliburton, but it usually takes a full team effort for the Pacers to win games.
Haliburton will likely never be considered a true NBA superstar or someone who competes for the NBA MVP, and he seems to be just fine with that. What Haliburton does better than arguably anyone in the NBA is play point guard in its true form. The modern NBA sees point guards like Jalen Brunson and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander more often than not looking to create their own shot. Even on teams where a wing is the primary scorer, such as Jayson Tatum in Boston or Paolo Banchero in Orlando, the offense often involves getting the ball in that player’s hands and trying to get them an open look. The Indiana offense does not operate in that same fashion. The Pacers always look to get transition buckets whenever possible, and even when forced into the halfcourt, they start their offense right away. Haliburton will initiate ball movement right away, and ultimately, he is the guy who often makes the right play to get a teammate an open look or get himself a look.
Another reason Haliburton isn’t considered among the top tier of players in the NBA, other than his “old school” style of play, is his lack of consistency in big games. While Haliburton’s unselfish play is a part of what makes him great when he is at his best, it can also sometimes be his downfall. Sometimes, Haliburton doesn’t look at himself as a superstar, and when teammates are struggling, he is reluctant to try to take over. In the close-out game against the Knicks in Game 5, Haliburton was a virtual non-factor on offense, scoring eight points on 2-of-7 shooting. The Pacers were struggling to create offense, and that is when their star player should step up and try to do it himself. With the Thunder’s elite defense, Haliburton might be forced to just create his own offense at times. They will rotate and switch better than any defense the Pacers have faced all postseason, and that could require Haliburton to be a superstar and create his own shot.
In the six games against the Knicks, Tyrese Haliburton had four double-doubles and one triple-double. His triple-double performance came in Game 4, where Haliburton was nearly flawless, and he needed to be when the Knicks also had a great night offensively. Haliburton turned in a true superstar performance, going for 32 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds. Haliburton has no issue getting a double-double with points and assists, it is the rebounds that would likely hold him back from getting a triple-double. In the Pacers’ 16 games this postseason, that Game 4 triple-double is the only game in which Haliburton has reached double-digit rebounds. Between the regular season and postseason, that was just Haliburton’s third career triple-double. While he has been fantastic up to this point, it’s hard to imagine Haliburton registering another triple-double in this series against the Thunder.
