The 2025 NBA Finals will get underway this evening. Although the youthful Oklahoma City Thunder is favored to win, the Indiana Pacers have proven they’re not a team to doubt. Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has been a driving force to their success, but he could also be the reason for their possible demise.
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Indiana has overcome tremendous odds to make their first NBA Finals appearance since 2001. Haliburton has looked like a superstar this postseason with memorable performances throughout the playoffs.
As great as Haliburton can be one night, though, he can be the complete opposite the next. The Eastern Conference Finals series against the Knicks is the perfect example.
In Game 4, he put forth 32 points, 12 rebounds and 15 assists with 0 turnovers. No other player in NBA Playoff history has finished with such a statline. He was expected to carry that momentum into the next game, but that wasn’t the case.
Haliburton finished with just 8 points and 6 assists in a Game 5 loss. Of course, the Pacers went on to win the series, so this lackluster performance didn’t matter in the grand scheme. But the Thunder aren’t like any other team they have faced thus far.
Skip Bayless is hesitant to put much confidence in the Pacers. He believes Indiana’s remarkable run could come to an abrupt end if Haliburton repeats this inconsistency.
“As you watch TV and try to turn Tyrese Haliburton into the most lovable star in these Finals, just remember he does have a strange glitch in his system,” the NBA analyst said on The Skip Bayless Show. “He is very capable of no-shows — very capable of deserving to have opponents give him the choke sign.”
Indiana doesn’t want a participation trophy for just making the NBA Finals. They have aspirations to finish the job. Bayless warns the Pacers of an outcome that is contingent on Haliburton’s performance.
“If Tyrese Haliburton has even one no-show in the first four games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, you can get out the brooms,” Bayless said.
It won’t be easy for Haliburton to continue his string of success against this Thunder team. They have All-NBA defenders like Lu Dort and Jalen Williams to throw his way, not to mention Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace who can come off the bench.
Haliburton has heard the same warning each series. He overcame his inconsistent performances then, and he plans to do it again in the Finals. See if he rises to the occasion or falls flat in Game 1 tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET.
