What is Tyrese Haliburton’s solution to the Pacers’ shooting woes?

On By Littum

Despite the historic rivalry between nerds vs. athletes, the connection between the two is closer than many jocks would like to accept. In a recent episode of ESPN’s Pon the McAfee ShowIndiana Pacers Tyrese Haliburton bridged the gap between the number crunchers and the bouncers when he pointed to a simple mathematical theory for his team’s 5-6 start.

After Wednesday’s 94-90 loss to the Orlando Magic, the Pacers’ once-perceived fun, flashy and efficient offense took a tumble from the 2023-24 season. The Rick Carlisle-coached team ranks 14th in offensive rating, down 12 spots from their Eastern Conference Finals second-place campaign.

However, Haliburton says solving Indiana’s problem is basic math.

Pacers fan Pat McAfee, curious about how the Pacers will fix their shooting slump, simply asked Haliburton, “What does it come down to?”

Haliburton explained how Indiana would find the bottom of the basket in a relaxed but confident tone.

“Keep shooting,” Haliburton said. “Law of averages, shoutout to all my math teachers. I get it, you know, if things don’t go well for a little bit, they’ll go better, and then we’ll average.”

Ironically, the Haliburton-led team has a respectable percentage from 3, at least from a league average, for as much criticism Indiana takes regarding its dive on offense. Shooting 37 percent from 3 ranks the Pacers 11th in the NBA. Despite their lofty reputation, however, the Pacers aren’t getting enough shots.

Indiana ranks 26th in 3-point attempts at 32.8. While the Pacers’ offense seemed groundbreaking last season, the league not only passed that hyper-efficient offense, but left it in the dust. As for the Pacers’ lack of shooting, pace has a lot to do with the problem.

The Pacers fell to 17th in pace, and a lot of that has to do with Haliburton’s confidence in his shot and the offense in general. In many ways, Haliburton took a back seat as Bennendict Mathurin has emerged as a legitimate scoring option for the Pacers.

Haliburton is semi-correct in saying the Pacers need to keep shooting. However, the problem stems more from the need to shoot more than just focusing on the percentages.

Haliburton’s math teachers may not call the star guard for urgent answers to their current students, but they can at least appreciate his understanding of the importance of basic math.