Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton is trying to rediscover the joy of basketball despite losses early in the season

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton looked and sounded more like himself Monday night.

He made one three-pointer after another, found open teammates with clever passes and, yes, he smiled again. It certainly helped to celebrate our second win in a row.

For the normally unflappable two-time All-Star, the boost came when he finally started to let go of his pent-up frustration by speaking freely about what he’s learned in the first two months of this NBA season – and why he needs to hear it to blame his early season struggles for Indiana’s slow start.

“Everyone wants to say, be happy, have fun. “It’s hard when you don’t play well or you lose,” Haliburton said after the 114-110 win over New Orleans. “But to distinguish the difference between happiness and joy: I have always had joy in the game of basketball and love and appreciation for what I do. So I think I just got frustrated with myself and that’s how I got involved in the world of work. Do you understand what I mean? That’s not me.”

Haliburton has shown unusual nervousness since training camp began in late September.

At media day he spoke about refuting critics who claimed last season’s run was more a matter of luck than skill. He also found motivation sitting deep on the bench while the U.S. Olympic basketball team won the gold medal.

He believed it could help him and his team achieve even greater success.

Instead, a series of injuries significantly weakened the Pacers’ once-powerful roster, Haliburton’s shots stopped falling, the losses piled up, and suddenly the guy who spoke so bluntly and inspired so many with his bright, signature smile was no more looked like himself and didn’t sound like himself anymore.

Others have noticed.

“I have people sending me clips of how I look in the media and on the field, and my body language sucks, my attitude sucks,” Haliburton said. “It’s hard to get out of it when you’re like that. All my life I’ve been told to control what I can control, and I can’t control whether the ball goes in every time. But I can control my body language, I can control my energy and I can control my effort.”

Whether it was the brief conversation between Haliburton and All-Star forward Pascal Siakam after Sunday’s win over Washington or something else, Haliburton seemed like a different player Monday.

He was 12 of 23 from the field, both season highs, made a season-best nine 3s and recorded his eighth double-double of the season.

Haliburton finished the game with his second-highest point total (34), matched a season-high 13 assists and made every key play down the stretch – hitting the game-winning 3-pointer with 3:06 left and setting up an Indiana layup a win gave a five-point lead and Bennedict Mathurin for an alley-oop dunk that brought the crowd to its feet a minute before the end of the game.

He believes it’s just a beginning.

“I think people look at the Indiana Pacers and think, ‘Man, their pace is down, the team’s energy isn’t very good.’ Put this on me,” Haliburton said. “There I was, and I was trapped within myself. I think when we get back to playing Pacers basketball, playing the right way, the question becomes: How do I internalize everything that I’m about to do and then bring it to the group and our guys? We have to have the right energy again.”

How did Haliburton get to this point?

The 24-year-old has shot at 45% or better in just five of 18 games this season, and the NBA’s reigning assists champion has seen that average drop to its lowest (8.8) since 2021 moved from Sacramento to Indiana Season -22. Additionally, the Pacers are 8-10.

Yes, Haliburton understands that Indiana’s initial problems aren’t entirely his fault.

Indiana lost two key backup centers, James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson, to torn Achilles tendons just six games into the season. Starting forward Aaron Nesmith has not played since November 1st due to a left knee injury and starting defenseman Andrew Nembhard has not played since November 6th due to a left ankle sprain.

But after last season’s playoff run, Haliburton is no longer motivated by just reaching the postseason — something he didn’t do at Iowa State or in his first three professional seasons. He wants to win a championship, something he failed to do as a prep star at Wisconsin.

And Haliburton knows there’s only one way to achieve that goal – by being himself.

“You watch us every game and right now you wouldn’t say we’re playing with joy, passion and energy,” he said. “Our energy fluctuates and it starts with me. So I can make this promise – it will continue to hold true in the future. Tell me that because if my energy is good and we hold each other accountable, everything will go well. It starts at the top for me and continues for everyone else.”