“Four seconds is a lot of time.” In any other context aside from basketball, that sounds like a completely ridiculous sentence.
How can four seconds be a lot of time? It’s literally just four seconds. That’s how it is for the rest of us. But in the world of NBA basketball? Four seconds is a lot of time — especially when you’ve got a dude like Tyrese Haliburton.
Don’t look now, but Haliburton is in the running for that fictional “best point guard in the NBA” title fans tend to dish out every season. Steph Curry is kind of a mile ahead of everyone else, but Haliburton is at least in the discussion. That’s why he’s on our MVP ladder, after all. He’s led the Pacers to an incredible 12-8 record as the 4th seed in the East and they’ve also got a bonafide top-10 offense with him at the helm.
You’re probably asking how they’re doing this. After all, the Pacers are one of the teams that are supposed to be going winless for Wembanyama.
But it’s Haliburton’s insane processing speeds that are propelling them forward and — quite literally — earning them wins. He broke down his game-winning assist against the Lakers on Tuesday and it showed us just how quickly his mind moves in those clutch moments.
Simply put, four seconds for Tyrese Haliburton seems like a lifetime.
Tyrese Haliburton takes us inside the mind of the @nba’s assists leader, sharing his thought process during the final play of last night's game when he found Andrew Nembhard for the game-winning three. pic.twitter.com/u6D1McSmqD
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) November 29, 2022
Haliburton knew exactly where everyone was and where everyone was going to be a half-second before they made it there. He knew how to bait LeBron James into hesitating for just a second only to then kick the ball out to Andrew Nembhard for the game-winning shot.
And he’s only doing this in his third year of playing NBA basketball.
So many other players would’ve just seen how little time they had left on the clock and decided to go for the shot. But Haliburton knew he could create something better with what he had left. He turned a scramble from an offensive rebound into a 3-pointer and that’s pretty incredible.
It’s no wonder he just became the first player in NBA history to have 40 assists with not a single turnover in a 3-game span.
Tyrese Haliburton is the first player in @nba history with 40 assists and 0 turnovers in a three-game span. pic.twitter.com/0EO2ubH0Zb
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) November 29, 2022
Haliburton is beyond impressive. He’s an All-Star, to be sure. And is very quickly ascending up as one of the best guards in the NBA.
Buckle in, folks. We’re going to be talking about this dude and the Indiana Pacers for years to come.
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