NBA coach shows how to take away Tyrese Haliburton’s special powers & make him struggle

On Thursday night, Tyrese Haliburton will take the floor in the NBA Finals for the first time in his career. Before the Indiana Pacers begin their series with the OKC Thunder, one assistant coach touched on how to slow down the All-Star guard.

As the focal point of the offense, Haliburton is the driving force of the Pacers’ success. He not only puts up big scoring numbers, but his high-level playmaking makes everyone on the floor with him a threat to score. Because of this, Indiana is an extremely tough team to defend on a nightly basis.

While speaking anonymously with Sporstkeeda’s Mark Medina, one NBA assistant coach gave his thoughts on slowing down Tyrese Haliburton. They harped on the positive energy he brings to the floor and stated the only way to get rid of that is physicality and making life difficult for him offensively.

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"A lot of his game is about putting out positive energy and belief in himself. So there are games where he’s just flowing and gets in a rhythm," the coach said. "He’s an unstoppable force of energy. But in the games that he struggles, the defense, the scheme or the physicality can counteract that. It almost takes away his special powers.

Between Lu Dort, Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace, the Thunder have no shortage of defenders capable of bringing energy and intensity defensively.

Tyrese Haliburton isn't scared of facing dominant OKC Thunder team in NBA Finals

Entering the playoffs as the No. 4 seed, it's been a bit of an improbable run for Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers. They've already pulled off a pair of upsets to reach the finals, but now they face their toughest challenge yet.

From opening night, the OKC Thunder have been arguably the NBA's deepest and most dominant team. Led by this year's MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they have a chance to cement themselves among the best collections of talent in history. However, in order to do so, they'll need to finish the job and secure a championship.

While speaking with the media ahead of Thursday's Game 1, Tyrese Haliburton reflected on the challenge ahead for the Pacers. He is fully aware of how special of a team the Thunder is but has no intentions of backing down from the challenge.

"We know that this is a great team," Haliburton said. "If we're going to win a championship, I don't want to win any other way.

I want to go through the best team, through the best challenge."

If the Pacers want any chance of taking down OKC in the finals, they're going to need an incredibly strong showing from their star guard.

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About the author

Kevin McCormick

Kevin McCormick is a basketball writer at Sportskeeda with over four years of experience in journalism and a bachelor's degree in Sports Management Marketing from Holy Family University.

Kevin has worked with various notable outlets throughout his career, including 97.3 ESPN, ClutchPoints, Heavy Sports, and Sports Illustrated/FanNation, before joining Sportskeeda in March 2022.

Specializing in NBA and WNBA coverage, Kevin's passion for basketball stems from his hometown team, the Philadelphia 76ers. Among his favorite players are Kevin Durant, Chet Holmgren, and Steph Curry, while his all-time favorites include Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Kevin holds Coach K in high regard for the large input he's had on the game helping mold players across multiple generations. Kevin believes the iconic rivalry between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson helped elevate the league to its current status.

Through his writing, Kevin provides in-depth analysis and insights into player and coach quotes. He prioritizes sourcing information from credible and reliable outlets.

Kevin enjoys reading, aiming to finish at least one book per month, and he is a big fan of music.

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