Tyrese Haliburton has posted strong offensive numbers against the Detroit Pistons this season. Perhaps that will get him out of a shooting slump that has made him increasingly frustrated.
The Indiana Pacers (38-31) begin a five-game road trip at the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, following a 108-103 home loss to Cleveland on Monday.
Haliburton was limited to 14 points on 4-for-14 shooting, including a 1-for-9 success rate on 3-point attempts.
“When I play better we win, so I’m just trying to figure it out right now,” Haliburton said. “Obviously, it’s frustrating. I never went through a slump like this in my life, but it’s all part of it, figuring it out. Yeah, this sucks. Everybody’s got the answer, but it’s about me figuring it out. I’ve just got to be better.
“And I will be better moving forward. If I’m not, we’ve got other people who will be prepared to do it. I’ve got to be better. That’s on me. I played 32 minutes, more than enough time to do what I do. I’ve just got to be better. Point blank.”
Haliburton has scored 18 or fewer points in his last four outings. He’s averaged 15.8 points on 41.7 percent shooting in 13 games since the All-Star break, and he’s made just 21.3 percent of his 3-point attempts in those contests.
Prior to the break, he averaged 21.8 points on 49.2 percent shooting (40 percent on 3-point tries). His assists have also dropped from 11.7 per game to 9.8.
The whole team is struggling with perimeter shots. Since the All-Star break, the Pacers are shooting 33.0 percent on 3-pointers.
“They’re just really not falling right now,” guard T.J. McConnell said. “No real explanation for it. We continue to play the way we do. We’ll continue to take the shots. They’ll fall. It’s an up-and-down thing from 3. The numbers will even themselves out.”
Good news for Haliburton and his teammates: They haven’t experienced any difficulties scoring against the Pistons. They’ve won all three matchups this season while averaging 132 points.
Haliburton has averaged 21.7 points and 13.0 assists while shooting 45.3 percent overall and 41.4 percent on 3-point attempts against Detroit.
The Pistons (12-56) have lost three straight. They were missing several key players in a 119-94 loss to Eastern Conference leader Boston on Monday night.
Leading scorer Cade Cunningham sat out due to left knee injury management. Their two rotation small forwards, Simone Fontecchio (left great toe contusion) and Ausar Thompson (illness) also sat out.
Reserve guard Quentin Grimes missed the contest with a sore knee and power forward Isaiah Stewart (right hamstring soreness) departed after the first half.
The Celtics led by 13 at halftime, then doubled the advantage during the third quarter.
“When you’re missing that many guys, you have to do something that overwhelms in the stat sheet,” coach Monty Williams said.
“We didn’t shoot it well, we didn’t generate enough 3s, didn’t get to the free-throw line and we got out-rebounded. So that combination wasn’t great. We had a few moments but we couldn’t sustain it.”
The matchup against Indiana begins a three-game homestand for Detroit.
–Field Level Media