Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton Doesn't Have An Answer For Why He's Still Struggling

Matt Levine | 2 Hours Ago

Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers dropped another game on Friday, this time to the Milwaukee Bucks by a score of 129-117. It was another poor defensive effort from Indiana and one that resulted in the Pacers dropping to 6-10 on the new season.

The Pacers have shown no sign of consistency from game to game this year and it has hurt them on the court. They have also had a few crucial players go down with injury but the team has been adamant about keeping the focus on the court, not on the injuries.

One other reason for their issues this season has been the decline in play from star point guard Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton started the year off very slowly and there was hope that he would pick things up sooner rather than later.

But now 16 games in and Haliburton is still having similar issues to the beginning of the season. Against the Bucks, he scored 18 points on 4-of-10 shooting, with one rebounds, and nine assists.

His numbers are heavily down from last year and there isn't a major reason for his decline. When asked about the struggles once again, Haliburton looked dejected and simply offered a non-answer.

"Nah," he said. "Nah I don't."

.@DustinDopirak: “You’ve now had a while to be working through this. Do you have a better sense of what’s holding you back?”#Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton: “Nah. Nah, I don’t.”

This is about as dejected as I’ve seen Ty look since being traded to Indiana. https://t.co/9WCKPNgQjd

— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) November 23, 2024

The Pacers star has been trying to figure out what is wrong with his game all year but nothing has worked. However, he has kept the faith and is embracing the challenge and the need to play better for his team.

Haliburton has dealt with some minor injuries this season but he didn't want to use them as an excuse for his poor play.

"It's part of it," Haliburton said. "It's part of basketball. I just have to keep trusting myself, working hard and trusting my teammates. And I'll figure it out. ... I'll put my head down, keep working and I'll figure it out."

The guard has looked a little stiff at different times throughout the year but he has reiterated that he is okay. Haliburton is battling for this Pacers team but his struggles are highlighting a bigger issues for Indiana.

The Pacers won't be able to find much success without Haliburton being his full self. It will be up to him to figure things out soon, otherwise, it could end up being a wasted season for the Pacers.

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