Assuming he remains healthy, Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton is slated to appear in 69 games this season. He has noted in the past that he felt he returned a bit soon from an injury, in part because Haliburton knows he needs to appear in 65 contests in order to qualify for postseason honors, writes Joe Vardon and Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Specifically, the Indiana phenom is hoping to land on an All-NBA team, which would make his current five-year, super-max contract extension worth roughly $245MM. Otherwise, he’ll make $204.5MM.
“It’s no secret what’s at stake for me personally this year, and for us a group,” Haliburton told Vardon and Amick. “So I feel like I’m looking to help lead this group. And if I’m playing like this and we’re still winning, I don’t care. It doesn’t bother me. I’ll get over it because obviously I’m doing enough to help us win. But when we’re not winning and I’m doing this, then that’s when it can really get to me.”
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Haliburton and Pacers center Myles Turner seem to have unlocked an elite pick-and-roll chemistry, writes Mark Medina of Sportskeeda. “They understand the attention that they bring to themselves,” power forward Obi Toppin said of the fearsome twosome’s tandem attack. “They understand the attention that they bring to themselves. They allow other people to play on the ball to get them open. That helps them tremendously.”
- Cavaliers shooting guard Max Strus is back from a knee injury, but a playoff-bound Cleveland club is struggling down the home stretch of the regular season, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. To wit, the Cavaliers recently dropped a game to a banged-up, lottery-bound Hornets squad on Wednesday, 118-111. “We just didn’t play hard,” Strus said. “Nobody wanted to play defense tonight. That was our problem. Can’t lose to teams like this at this point in the season. Is what it is. Gotta take it on the chin and hopefully get back at it on Friday.” He scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor, which included 5-of-10 shooting from deep. He also chipped in four rebounds and two steals.
- In a 125-99 blowout win over the Pacers, returning Bulls wing Javonte Green made a splash. He saw his first game action since rejoining Chicago on a 10-day deal in the Indiana contest. Players and fans alike seemed happy he was back in Bulls red, notes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports. Across nine minutes, he saw himself covering the much taller Pacers power forward Pascal Siakam, but he did his best to pester the two-time All-Star. In nine minutes on the hardwood, Green logged a plus-15 plus-minus. The 6’4″ vet got an ovation from fans when he first was subbed into the action. “It means a lot,” Green said. “Especially coming from this city, the city that really gave me an opportunity to showcase my talent during the game.”