Breaking down Tyrese Haliburton’s huge performance against the Spurs

Tyrese Haliburton put on a show Sunday in the win over the San Antonio Spurs, finishing with 27 points, 11 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals in 37 minutes.

The roster-depleted Kings relied heavily on Haliburton to run the offense and he delivered. This comes after a 21-point and 10-assist game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.

Three things about his game stood out about his performance: of course the passes; his two-man game with Damian Jones; and his aggressiveness toward getting to the basket and looking for his offense.

Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

Assists

Haliburton had a 15-point, 10-assist game against the Spurs last season and he remembered that. So he spent some time watching that film in preparation.

“I had some success against San Antonio last year in the ball screens so watching a lot of film of that yesterday. And I know big [Jakob] Poeltl is so long, so active he was really trying to stop me from getting to the rim. So early I was getting my teammates involved and then that kind of opened up everything for me,” Haliburton said after the game. “I know how good they are defensively as a unit, but especially those two in Dejounte [Murray] and Poeltl in the pick and roll. So just trying to figure out how I could maneuver that early and that led me to know how to figure it out as the game went on.”

Haliburton draws three defenders and releases the pass at precisely the right time.

This is just an incredible pass. Watch Haliburton and Moe Harkless make eye contact and Harkless slip out. Great defense by the Spurs to try to block the pass, but Haliburton is able to make the pass falling backward. Just great athleticism.

Going To The Rim/Looking For His Offense

This was only the third time in his career, and the first time this season, that Haliburton has taken 19 or more field goal attempts. (He had two games in his rookie season with 20 attempts.) Tyrese being more aggressive offensively has been an ongoing topic of discussion this season, and rightfully so considering he is averaging 46% from the field and 41% from three.

He had a specific plan of attack in this game.

“Poeltl is in a deep drop most of the game so my midrange was going, but I know Dejounte is coming from behind me so you can’t go to the rim and just try to lay it up soft, he blocks all of that. So kind of had to go into his chest and just finish and I was able to do that tonight,” Haliburton said.

Straight into the teeth of the defense and right at Poeltl. Poeltl is quick enough to stay with him and force a tough shot. Just better offense.

Count them: Three defenders split by Haliburton on the drive capped by a scoop shot. This is the type of aggressiveness that can take his scoring numbers to the next level.

Again, right at Poeltl. Haliburton is so good on the pick and roll and passing that defenders have a difficult time judging if he is going for the pass or shoot. Watch how his eyes are fixed on the roller. He even appears to begin his shot by making it appear it is going horizontal instead of vertical to make it look like a pass. These things combined to force Poeltl to back off enough to give him enough space for the shot.

Haliburton really put Poeltl through the ringer in this game. Here, he gets him isolated beyond the arc and effortlessly drops a three over him.

Two-Man Game With Damian Jones

Haliburton’s night shouldn’t overshadow the fact that Jones also had a career night with his 23 points. Haliburton played a big part in it with their two-man game.

“That’s my guy. We spent a lot, a lot, a lot of time together in the summer. We really know how to play off each other. I think we have a really good understanding. And in that second and third quarter they were blitzing me, or showing pretty hard, so that quick slip was open. I was hitting him on the bounce pass and he’s kind of hard to control when he gets to his one dribble and kind of can gather, whether it’s off the one foot or two foot, the only real way to stop him is foul him I guess because he’s so strong, and so athletic, so explosive,” Haliburton said.

Exactly what Haliburton was talking about it. The Spurs try to blitz him, which leads to the quick slip. Top it off with the celebration.

Haliburton easily floats the lob to Jones over the big.

Jones also had 8 rebounds.

“He did a great job rebounding and that’s why he had a career night and I’m super happy for him,” Haliburton said.

We are all well aware of Haliburton’s passing ability and how he is able to use his big man in the pick and roll game. Seeing it in more of a full-time, ball-dominant, floor general role though has certainly been promising. The 19 shots, the effectiveness of those shots (making 12 of them), and how assertive he was driving to the lane specifically for his offense was even more promising.