Tyrese Haliburton

Pacers Notes: Nesmith, Haliburton, Canadians

Aaron Nesmith didn’t miss any games after spraining his right ankle in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs. New York, but playing through the injury wasn’t easy, according to the Pacers wing, who was limited to 16 minutes in Game 5 and just under 20 in Game 6, his two lowest totals of the postseason (he also had some foul trouble in Game 6).

“It took a lot (to return for Game 4),” Nesmith said on Wednesday, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “It was pretty much rehab every minute of that day. It was cold tub, game-ready, hyperbaric chambers, it was red light therapy. It was manual wave, it was shock wave. Anything you could name we kinda threw it at the ankle, but there was no chance I was missing that game.”

Although the Pacers haven’t had as much rest between the conference finals and the start of the NBA Finals as the Thunder, Indiana still had four full days off prior to Thursday’s Game 1. Few Pacers appreciated those off-days more than Nesmith.

“I needed ’em,” he said. “I was looking forward to these days off. I took ’em, and I’ll be ready.”

Here’s more on the Pacers:

  • Given the challenges the NBA has faced over the years trying to find a way to stop teams from tanking, the league should be rejoicing that Indiana has made it to this year’s NBA Finals, writes Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. As Lloyd details, team owner Herb Simon has long had an aversion to tanking, so the Pacers have never really done it — the club was stuck in the middle at times, but has won fewer than 32 games in a season just once in the past 35 years.
  • Following an on-court altercation with Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo at the end of the Pacers’ first-round series win, Tyrese Haliburton‘s father John Haliburton was effectively banned from attending games. However, that ban was lifted for Pacers home games midway through the Eastern Conference Finals as long as the elder Haliburton watched from a suite. For the NBA Finals, he won’t be prohibited from attending games at either arena, Dopirak writes for The Indianapolis Star. “I think the commentary around my dad got a little ridiculous,” Tyrese said. “Of course, I’m going to say that. I’m his son. It got a little over the top. He was wrong. That is what it is. I don’t think any of us want to be defined by our worst moments. That’s just sports media. Sometimes we just take a super good thing or a super bad thing and overblow it. It is what it is. He’s learned from it. It won’t happen again. Love my pops dearly. Really thankful he’s going to be in the building along with me on this journey.”
  • Both teams competing in the NBA Finals have multiple Canadians on their rosters, with Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin representing the Pacers and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort competing for the Thunder. Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca takes a look at the shared history among those players, three of whom represented Canada in last year’s Olympics, while Julian McKenzie of The Athletic specifically examines the bond between Montreal natives Mathurin and Dort, who grew up minutes from one another and each describes the other as being like “a brother.”

Pacers Notes: Pierce, Haliburton, Flight, Defending SGA, Underdog Role

Lloyd Pierce had a rough two-and-a-half seasons as a head coach with the Hawks from 2018-21. Pierce, now one of Rick Carlisle‘s top assistants with the Pacers, is hoping for another shot at being an NBA head coach, he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape.

“I took a head coaching job and I learned a lot,” Pierce  said. “I want to be able to prove to myself. More than anything, I want to propel an organization to where we are right now, the NBA Finals.

“Every competitor struggles with the day they were let go. And so, everything you do moving forward is first self-awareness, and then second it’s do what you need to do to get back in that seat and prove everybody wrong, and more importantly prove it to yourself. And I’m definitely more about proving myself, and so I’m not stressing over it. But I definitely feel like I deserve an opportunity to get back in that seat again.”

We have more on the Pacers:

  • Considering the team’s slow start, the Pacers made an unexpected rise to the top of the Eastern Conference. Star guard Tyrese Haliburton plans to savor his first taste of the NBA Finals, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star writes. “This is a really exciting time for me personally to have this opportunity,” Haliburton said. “This is something I’ve wanted to do my whole life. Last year, having playoff success in my first playoff run and being unsuccessful to start the season, for me I thought a lot about, wow, maybe I took last year for granted. I didn’t know what the playoffs were going to look like as the year was going on. I didn’t know if we’d be a play-in team or where we’d stack up in the end with how we were playing early in the year. I’m definitely not taking this for granted. Learning to appreciate every day and remember all these days as best as I can.”
  • The Pacers’ flight to Oklahoma City on Tuesday took an unexpected turn. The team’s charter flight was first diverted to Tulsa due to severe weather in Oklahoma. Then, after refueling there, the plane was re-routed around another band of weather before finally landing in Oklahoma City about three-and-a-half hours behind schedule, according to The Associated Press.
  • How will they defend Thunder star guard and Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated tackles that topic, speculating that Andrew Nembhard will likely serve as the point-of-attack defender. Stiles also anticipates the Pacers will attempt to clog the driving lanes as SGA works to get to his spots at the elbow, the baseline and the rim.
  • The Pacers are heavy underdogs to win the championship and they’re comfortable in that role, Dopirak writes. “We’ve all been doubted at some point in time of our lives,” Carlisle said. “You look in the mirror, you gotta face the doubts and you decide, how are you going to go forward? Are you going to fight through and find a way or are you going to find an excuse. Our team is a bunch of guys who have found a way in a lot of different situations.”

Pacers Notes: Finals Odds, Siakam, Turnaround, Turner

The oddsmakers and bettors don’t believe the Pacers have much of a chance in the Finals against the Thunder. At BetMGM, the Pacers have +500 odds to win the championship, making them the biggest underdogs in the NBA Finals since the Cavaliers in 2018, Prince J. Grimes of the Indianapolis Star notes. The Warriors won those Finals in a sweep.

In fact, the oddsmakers believe it will be a quick series. The betting favorite for the length of the series is a 4-1 Thunder victory. Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the huge favorite to win Finals MVP at -625 odds with Tyrese Haliburton a distant second at +700.

We have more on the Pacers:

  • Pascal Siakam has developed into the ideal second star for the Pacers, Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes. Koreen outlines how Siakam has expanded his game over the years, both before and since the trade that sent him from Toronto to Indiana. Siakam, named the Most Valuable Player of the Eastern Conference Finals, is averaging 21.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting a blistering 46.3 percent from long range in 16 postseason games.
  • Siakam was instrumental in the team’s turnaround from a 10-15 start, particularly by offering words of encouragement to Haliburton, who was struggling with his shooting at the time, as Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star details. Ramping up their pressure defense and inserting Aaron Nesmith into the starting lineup were some of the other keys to the Pacers’ dramatic rise to the top of the Eastern Conference.
  • Myles Turner believes the era of the “super team,” with established All-Stars banding together to win the championship, has ended. “I think it’s a new blueprint for the league,” Turner said, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “I think the years of the super teams and stacking, it’s just not as effective as it once was, you know what I mean? Since I’ve been in the league, the NBA has been very trendy; it just shifts. But the new trend now is just kind of what we’re doing. OKC does the same thing — young guys get out and run, defend and use the power of friendship.”

NBA Finals Notes: Thunder, Pacers, MVPs, Market Size, More

A blockbuster 2017 trade between the Thunder and Pacers helped set the stage for the 2025 NBA Finals, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. On June 30 of that year, Oklahoma City agreed to send Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo to Indiana in exchange for Paul George.

None of those players will be playing in these NBA Finals, but George and Sabonis were later used to acquire several of this series’ stars. Sending George to the Clippers in 2019 netted the Thunder a trade package that included Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the future draft pick that eventually became Jalen Williams. As for the Pacers, they dealt Sabonis to Sacramento at the 2022 trade deadline as part of the six-player trade that landed Tyrese Haliburton in Indiana.

As Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes, you can go back even further to find the key trade that instigated the series of roster moves that saw Oklahoma City acquire George.

Back in 2008, then-SuperSonics general manager Sam Presti was able to extract two first-round picks from Phoenix to take on Kurt Thomas‘ unwanted salary and get the Suns out of the tax. Presti used the first of those picks to draft Serge Ibaka, who was traded in 2016 to Orlando for Oladipo and Sabonis — the exact package that the Thunder used a year later to land George.

Here’s more on the upcoming NBA Finals:

  • Gilgeous-Alexander and Haliburton rank first and second, in that order, in two lists published today by ESPN.com. In the first, Tim Bontemps ranks the 2025 postseason MVPs, with the Thunder and Pacers point guards leap-frogging Jalen Brunson for the top spots following the conference finals. In the second, Bontemps and Kevin Pelton rank the top 20 players in the NBA Finals, with Pascal Siakam, Williams, and Chet Holmgren rounding out the top five.
  • Indianapolis is the 25th-largest media market in the United States, while Oklahoma City comes in at No. 47. Will a spring showdown between two small-market franchises affect the NBA’s bottom line? According to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, while the revenue generated by merchandise and ticket sales may fell well short of a New York-vs.-Los Angeles-type Finals, the league won’t really have to worry about a one-year ratings dip after having finalized a new long-term media rights deal in 2024. “There’s really no direct impact between ratings and financial success, certainly in the near term,” a former senior NBA executive told The Athletic. “If you have bad ratings for the next decade then that limits your TV rights. But I don’t think anyone in the NBA is worried about that right now because the revenues for TV are guaranteed.”
  • Law Murray of The Athletic takes a closer look at how the Thunder and Pacers compare to one another in terms of the possession battle. As Murray details, neither team turns the ball over much, but Indiana has been the worst offensive rebounding team of the 16 clubs in the playoffs and doesn’t force opponent turnovers at nearly the same rate as Oklahoma City. Neutralizing the Thunder’s usual advantage in possessions and shot attempts will give the Pacers their best chance at pulling off the upset.

Pascal Siakam Named Eastern Conference Finals MVP

Pacers forward Pascal Siakam was named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals as Indiana closed out New York in Game 6 Saturday night. Siakam prevailed in a close race, topping teammate Tyrese Haliburton by a 5-4 margin in voting by a panel of media members (Twitter link).

Both players were outstanding in leading Indiana to its first NBA Finals appearance in 25 years. Siakam averaged 24.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists throughout the series and delivered 31 points in Saturday’s closeout game.

Haliburton posted 21.o points, 6.0 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game during the series and finished Game 6 with 21 points and 13 assists.

“First of all, shoutout Indy, man,” Siakam said during the trophy presentation (YouTube video link). “It’s been such an amazing experience for me so far from the first day I landed here, like the love’s been amazing. (General manager Chad Buchanan), (president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard), just unbelievable, man. First-class organization, I’m just so happy to be here. And tonight, after a bad Game 5, we wanted to bounce back. I have 100% belief in my teammates. Whenever we’re down, we always find a way, and we did that tonight.”

The Eastern Conference Finals MVP trophy, which is named in honor of Larry Bird, was introduced three years ago. It was won by Boston’s Jayson Tatum in 2022, Miami’s Jimmy Butler in 2023 and Boston’s Jaylen Brown in 2024.

The Pacers will continue their pursuit of their first NBA title when the Finals begin Thursday night in Oklahoma City. The complete Finals schedule can be found here.

Eastern Notes: Pacers, Knicks, Edgecombe, Hornets, Raptors

After taking a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers‘ high-octane offense only managed 94 points in a Game 5 loss in New York. As Jamal Collier of ESPN writes, that total was a playoff-low for the Pacers, who also turned the ball over 20 times, the most turnovers they’ve committed in a game this postseason.

We’re a resilient group,” star point guard Tyrese Haliburton said after the game. “We always want to respond when things don’t go well after a game like that. We understand what the stakes are. … We’re fine. There’s no need to panic or anything.”

Despite the wire-to-wire defeat, All-Star forward Pascal Siakam is confident Indiana will rebound with a strong home showing tonight in Game 6, according to Collier.

You’re going to have bad games,” Siakam said. “This is the NBA, and there’s going to be times where a team is going to play hard. In fact, they’re going to beat you.

It is just all about us, man. It’s always been us against the world, and I don’t expect it to change. … We are 3-2 in a series, and we have an opportunity to go back home and show what we’re made of.”

Here are a few more notes from around the East:

  • ESPN insiders Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Zach Kram and Chris Herring list some keys to watch ahead of Game 6. Kram views the health and play of Aaron Nesmith as the Pacers‘ biggest X factor, while how well Jalen Brunson holds up on defense will be critical for the Knicks.
  • Rival executives believe the Hornets will target V.J. Edgecombe if he’s still available at No. 4 in next month’s draft, according to Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports, who hears the Baylor guard had an “excellent” interview with Charlotte. Unsurprisingly, O’Connor has the Hornets selecting Edgecombe — who’s also the fourth-rated prospected on ESPN’s big board — at No. 4 in his latest mock draft.
  • According to O’Connor, several rival teams think the Raptors are leaning toward selecting a prospect who can contribute right away rather than a long-term project with their lottery pick. Toronto holds the No. 9 pick in June’s draft. For what it’s worth, O’Connor has the team picking Washington State wing Cedric Coward.

Knicks Notes: Injury Report, Hart, Turnovers, Game 6

No Knicks are listed on the team’s injury report this morning ahead of Saturday’s pivotal Game 6 in Indiana, tweets James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. That’s certainly a good sign for the Knicks, as one of their best players was considered a game-time decision on Thursday.

Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns was initially questionable to suit up for Game 5 due to a left knee issue, but he wound up playing 36 minutes and recording 24 points and 13 rebounds in New York’s victory.

Here are a few more notes on the Knicks:

  • Wing Josh Hart had a bounce-back performance on Thursday after being disappointed with his effort in Game 4, writes Barbara Barker of Newsday (subscriber link). Hart fouled out in Game 4 and only dished out one assist while committing five turnovers. “I was really embarrassed about what I was doing, how I looked and the lack of intensity, lack of passion and lack of competitiveness,” Hart said of how he felt after watching the Game 4 loss that gave the Pacers a 3-1 lead. “I was embarrassed, honestly. Not even the turnovers. But giving up back cuts, not communicating. I’m the guy who’s supposed to play with a high competitive nature, a high motor. Those were things I wasn’t doing. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror, let alone look at these guys.” The Knicks will need Hart to continue playing like he did in Game 5 in order to stave off elimination again tonight, Barker adds.
  • Although Game 5 was the Knicks’ first decisive victory of the Eastern Conference Finals, they still committed 15 turnovers, which has been an ongoing issue in the series, per Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Eliminating some of those miscues will be important in Game 6. “It’s not just [Towns, who had four turnovers],” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “The big thing is keeping it simple. The first open man, hit him. Oftentimes, the intent is good, but we’re trying to thread the needle and we can’t do that.”
  • Steve Popper of Newsday (subscription required) lists three keys for the Knicks ahead of Game 6, with the first — and most important — being finding a way to slow down Tyrese Haliburton again. After recording 32 points (on 11-of-23 shooting), 15 assists and 12 rebounds in Game 4, New York limited Haliburton to eight points (on 2-of-7 shooting), six assists and two rebounds in the Game 5 victory.

Pacers Notes: Nesmith, Bradley, Haliburton, Turnovers

The Pacers‘ starting small forward, Aaron Nesmith, is still playing through a right ankle sprain he suffered during Game 3 against the Knicks, and Game 5 proved more difficult than Game 4 in that regard, writes Dustin Dopirak of the Indy Star. However, he’s not letting himself off the hook for a 16-minute, three-point performance.

It hurts, but it’s no excuse. Gotta be better. I was able to play Game 4. I could play today. There was no excuse,” he said.

While Dopirak points to a first-quarter collision with Knicks’ center Mitchell Robinson in Game 5 as a potential reason for the extra pain, Nesmith rebuked that idea.

It wasn’t a play today that made it worse,” he said.

While Nesmith has taken the bulk of responsibility guarding Knicks’ star Jalen Brunson throughout the series, head coach Rick Carlisle turned to other wing options after Nesmith struggled out of the gate.

He got off to a bit of a slow start. I wasn’t sure if maybe he was slowed a little bit by the ankle. I put [Ben] Sheppard in there right away and then [Bennedict] Mathurin got a game going. That dug into Aaron’s minutes some. But everyone’s just gonna have to be ready for Game 6,” explained Carlisle.

Here’s more from Indiana:

  • In more Pacers’ injury news, backup center Tony Bradley is being listed as questionable for Saturday’s Game 6 with a left hip flexor strain, reports Scott Agness of the Fieldhouse Files (via Twitter). Bradley landed awkwardly after Robinson fouled him on a layup attempt in the third quarter. After receiving sporadic minutes throughout the postseason, Bradley had played an average of 11 minutes per game in the three contests leading up to Game 5, as usual backup Thomas Bryant‘s minutes declined. With Robinson’s insertion into the Knicks’ starting lineup, the Pacers have leaned into smaller lineups featuring Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin without a traditional center.
  • Following a dominant Game 4 in which he contributed 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, and four steals with no turnovers, Tyrese Haliburton was uncharacteristically quiet in Game 5, scoring just eight points on seven shots in 31 minutes. It was a head-scratcher of a performance, writes The Athletic’s Joe Vardon, and Haliburton knows it. “I got to be better, set the tone, get downhill. I feel like I can do a great job of that, but I’ll watch the film,” he said. However, Carlisle said it’s not all on the star point guard. “As a team, we have to be aggressive and have a level of balance,” Carlisle said. “… There’s more things I’m gonna have to do to help him. I’ll take responsibility for that, and we’ll see what we can improve.” Vardon draws a parallel to Haliburton’s Game 3 against the Cavaliers, in which he scored just four points over 30 minutes in a loss. The Pacers went on to win the next two contests by an average of 14.5 points as they closed out the series in five games.
  • The Pacers committed turnovers on each of their first two possessions of Game 5, a harbinger of things to come for a team that draws strength from rarely making mistakes, writes Agness. Indiana opened the second half by turning the ball over on their first possession as well, and ended with a playoff-high 20 turnovers in the game, compared to New York’s 15. Losing the turnover battle, as well as the rebounding battle, meant the Pacers totaled just 74 shots compared to 89 for the Knicks.

Pacers Notes: Haliburton, Siakam, Mathurin, Nesmith

After blaming himself for the Pacers‘ second-half offensive issues in Game 3, Tyrese Haliburton responded with his best game of the postseason in Game 4 on Tuesday. As Jamal Collier of ESPN writes, Haliburton became the first player since the NBA began tracking turnovers in 1977 to rack up at least 30 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds (he had 32, 15, and 12) in a playoff game without committing a turnover.

“I just want to be able to prove that I can respond when my back’s against the wall, when our team’s back is against the wall,” Haliburton said after the victory, which gave Indiana a 3-1 series lead. “This is a big win for us because if we go back down there 2-2, it’s a little different momentum-wise.”

With the Pacers just one win away from earning a spot in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000, Haliburton is in the process of establishing himself as a legitimate NBA superstar.

“His ability to play both on and off the ball is so unique,” one Western Conference executive told Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “It allows him to be Steph Curry-esque.”

While opposing point guard Jalen Brunson is putting up better individual scoring numbers than Haliburton in the Eastern Conference Finals, Haliburton is being lauded for his ability to take care of the ball and set up his teammates for scoring opportunities, as Bontemps writes.

“(Haliburton is) throwing it ahead, playing out of dribble handoffs, running pick-and-rolls, so he gets everyone involved,” a Western Conference scout told ESPN. “So (Aaron) Nesmith is throwing himself into defense because he knows he’s going to get touches and shots.

“I didn’t think (Haliburton) had this jump in him. He’s shown so much more just because he makes his teammates better. Those guys have all been put in positions to succeed. All these guys are the best versions of themselves now because they have been instilled with confidence and optimized.”

Here’s more on the Pacers ahead of Thursday’s Game 5:

  • Various sources who spoke to Bontemps expressed admiration for the Pacers’ ability to repeat – and potentially outdo – last spring’s playoff success. One scout admitted he was surprised by Indiana’s deep postseason run, but acknowledged they’re “so solid everywhere” and “don’t have any weaknesses,” while an assistant coach pointed out that Indiana is in good position to run it back with this roster in 2025/26. “Assuming they bring back (free agent center) Myles (Turner), they’re such a complete team,” that assistant told ESPN. “And they have size and physicality at every position. And it’s sustainable because of the deals they have everyone signed to.”
  • As good as Haliburton has been in the Eastern Finals, it’s forward Pascal Siakam who is leading the Pacers in scoring through four games vs. New York. As Peter Botte of The New York Post writes, Siakam is getting the best of former teammate and good friend OG Anunoby en route to his big scoring nights.
  • After a quiet start to the series, Bennedict Mathurin showed in Game 4 that he’s capable of making an outsized impact in a limited role, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Mathurin, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason, poured in 20 points in just 12:29 of action on Tuesday.
  • Playing through a sprained ankle in Game 4, Nesmith continued to have a major hand in the club’s success, scoring 16 points and playing solid defense against Brunson. As Nate Duncan tweets, the Knicks star shot just 3-of-13 from the floor with Nesmith as his primary defender, doing almost all of his damage against other Pacers.
  • Nesmith is once again listed as questionable to play in Game 5, but his comments after Game 4’s win suggest he’s highly likely to suit up on Thursday. “I was like, I don’t care how I feel. I’m playing,” he said, per David Aldridge of The Athletic. “This is what we all live for. This is (what) we’ve been preparing for all year long, our entire lifetimes. These moments, I can’t miss these moments.”

Pacers Notes: Nesmith, Game 3 Loss, Haliburton, Offense

Pacers wing Aaron Nesmith was able to return to Sunday’s game in the fourth quarter after spraining his right ankle in the third quarter, but he was in pain when he woke up on Monday, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

According to head coach Rick Carlisle, Nesmith will be listed as questionable on the injury report for Game 4 and will likely be a game-time decision on Tuesday.

It’s a potentially significant development for the Pacers, given that Nesmith has been one of their most important players during the playoffs. The 25-year-old has increased his averages to 15.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game with a 53.5% mark on three-pointers in the postseason — all of those marks would be career highs. Additionally, his +8.8 playoff net rating is the third-best mark on the team behind only Myles Turner (+9.1) and Tyrese Haliburton (+8.9).

We have more on the Pacers:

  • The Pacers have made a series of historic comebacks during these playoffs, but they found themselves on the other end of a major in-game swing at home on Sunday, blowing a 20-point first-half lead and losing Game 3 by a score of 106-100. Haliburton took the blame after the loss for allowing the team’s usual up-tempo pace to lag in the third and fourth quarters, according to Dopirak. “I felt like I was walking the ball up every play.” Haliburton said. “It’s definitely an area where I know when I watch film I’m going to kick myself for. I’m already thinking about it, kicking myself for it. Honestly, I think a lot of our offensive struggles in the second half are going to be due to me. I gotta be better there and I will be better in Game 4.”
  • Although he was unhappy about the Pacers’ second-half offense, Haliburton was pleased with how the team performed on defense against a talented Knicks group, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “You hold a team like that to 106 (points), that’s — you should win that game,” Haliburton said. “… I mean, 100 points isn’t us, you know? So kudos to them, they did a good job, but there’s definitely areas that we can improve on. We’ll have a great film session (on Monday). Guys will watch film on their own tonight and tomorrow, and see where we can get better.”
  • John Haliburton, Tyrese’s father, will be permitted to attend Indiana’s home games in a suite beginning on Tuesday, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania. The elder Haliburton agreed not to attend the team’s home or road games after getting involved in an on-court altercation with Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo at the end of their first-round series and hasn’t been at any of the past eight contests since then. He will continue to remain away from road games.