Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton became close friends last summer as teammates on Team USA, but that relationship will be put on hold when the two All-Star point guards square off in the Eastern Conference semifinals starting Monday night at the Garden. will be relegated to
“Great player,” Brunson said Saturday. “I knew him and I had met him a few times, but we didn’t really become friends until last summer.” Ta. “Great guy, great family. He obviously became one of my friends through it. [experience at the FIBA World Cup]And I respect him and his style of playing the game all over the world. He goes out there and makes the right plays and does what he’s supposed to do. ”
Haliburton was named to the 2024 Olympic team last month without Brunson, but he recorded a career-best 23 assists on Dec. 30 against the Knicks.
“Literally, my first call after making the playoffs was a FaceTime with Jalen,” Haliburton told reporters in Indiana on Saturday. “I mean, we’re really good friends, but it’s a competition and I’m totally excited to play against them.”
Last summer’s FIBA team included Brunson, Hart and fellow Villanova product Mikal Bridges, and Haliburton said he was a “substitute,” citing Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo, also a former Wildcat. He joked that he played the role of Donte.
“I kind of got caught up in that group,” Halliburton said. “It was fun. We have a group chat and we talk all the time. They’re good friends of mine. So I got excited about what kind of person Josh Hart is and all the shenanigans. I’m just excited to play against them.”
With Haliburton at the helm, the Pacers played at the second-fastest pace (team possessions per 48 minutes) during the regular season, compared to the Knicks, who ranked 30th in the league.
“that [depends] How do you define pace?” Tom Thibodeau said. “I think I was fifth in points.” [in the first round]. I think he’s probably second in fast break points. If you look at total shot attempts, we’re always at the top.
“So, you’re going to get there no matter what. I said you can say whatever you want with the stats, but the most important thing is the net rating. And that’s what we’re looking at. Strong offensively and defensively.” You want to be. I think we were fifth in offensive rating. We’re going to be challenged again, and our defense has to be great.”
During the regular season, the Knicks finished fifth in the NBA in net rating, which measures point differential per 100 possessions.
Thibodeau said there were no new injuries to report after the first round, aside from Julius Randle (shoulder) and Bojan Bogdanovic (foot).
