You wonder what it must’ve felt like for Tyrese Haliburton to walk back into Paycom Center.
What did the air feel like, when he walked out of the tunnel with no crowd? Was it louder in his mind than reality — or was it like a vacuum, hollow and calm?
Did he walk to the point of the floor where it happened, and what did he do once he got there? Well, according to Haliburton, it wasn’t really that deep.
“I thought I would feel something a little different,” Haliburton said after practice Thursday. “I didn’t really think about it once I got in and started playing basketball. It was good to kind of rip the Band-Aid off, not allow a place to have that mental hold on me.”
Whether it was truly just another game for Haliburton or not doesn’t really matter. What matters is that he kicked ass. Haliburton finished the night with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting, 4-of-6 from three, along with three boards, three assists, and two blocks.
It was an active 24 minutes from Haliburton, who missed the prior game against Atlanta due to an ankle tweak. It was a preseason game after all, but to Haliburton, it was clearly about much more.
“Mentally, as I prepared for the season and knowing that that was Game 3, the plan was to not play,” Haliburton said. “I didn’t go there last year. I think it was just more a mental hurdle than anything. But after not playing Game 2, I decided I probably needed some more game reps.”
The most devastating opinion that has floated around online NBA circles is, They would’ve won if he didn’t get hurt. It’s fiction now, but anyone that had their eyes open during that postseason run would agree that destiny was in favor of Indiana along the way.
It wasn’t something most Indiana fans would expect. Aside from one magical Peyton Manning postseason run that led to a Super Bowl victory, the Gods, the forces, or whatever it may be, has never been on the side of a professional Indiana sports franchise.
Except in the summer of 2025. Then the magic fizzled, like it always does.
But a game like that, an exhibition in Oklahoma City, gave you a little reminder of what’s possible.
For a stretch in the first half, it was hard not to giggle watching this team play basketball. I saw a team that only saw themselves, with no opponent able to get in the way fast enough. The players floating, constantly moving into open space, and letting the ball touch the floor only as much as required.
It was particularly pleasant to see this playstyle work so effectively with Ivica Zubac, a much more plodding center than Myles Turner was two seasons ago. But much like Haliburton, there is a gravity to Zubac that is hard to ignore. Whether he play the dunker spot waiting for an opposite-floor drive or in the pick-and-roll with Haliburton, he draws attention to him that a Pacers big man hasn’t seen in quite some time.
You saw it with Domantas Sabonis. But Zubac is much more a complement to a well-executed action, taking advantage of the opportunities presented to him, than some featured player needing 15 shots a night.
Once the trade for Zubac happened, we all wondered what it could look like with a point-general like Haliburton. Now we know.
And we will continue to see it grow as the season gets going, because as LeBron James beautifully stated, “Nobody can move the needle like Tyrese can.”
The real triumphant return comes next Friday night in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, when thousands of fans fill the room to cheer on their king. But to perform well in the lands of past sorrow is a victory no win or loss can truly define, and so now we declare that the king is here again.
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