Tyrese Haliburton: ‘That’s why they brought me here – to help alongside De’Aaron’

At the 7:11 mark of the fourth quarter De’Aaron Fox exits the game in a close 108-107 matchup with the Western Conference heavyweight Denver Nuggets. Fox is coming off a huge spurt at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth that helped the Kings regain momentum. In his absence, Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton facilitates the offense with a few marvelous assists, defense that is altering shots on nearly every possession and a made basket at 4:19 that puts the Kings up 115-108. Right after, Fox re-enters the game and with Haliburton still applying defensive pressure and helping to facilitate the offense (those assists to Richaun Holmes tp set him up at his spot for his push shot near the basket), and Fox putting pressure on the defense with his speed, the Kings ice the game with a 125-115 victory.

The playmaking ability of both Fox and Haliburton was too much for the Nuggets to climb back from.

With the way that Haliburton has been providing valuable (and intelligent) minutes off the bench so far this season, we may be seeing more of him alongside Fox in the very near future. He’s already getting minutes in crunch time of close games and the team is simply better with him on the floor. And having two playmakers in the backcourt is becoming more common (and needed) in the league.

“Us being able to play together more and continuing to gel together is great because you have multiple points of attack,” said Fox, who finished the game with 24 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block in 35 minutes. “We’re continuing to get better playing with each other, and I think that showed tonight being able to finish this game out.”

The two have played 57 total minutes together through four games. Haliburton has largely been the second player off the bench with him and Cory Joseph rounding out the point guard rotation. You would have to imagine the rookie will soon be that first player off the bench at some point this season, if not starting eventually, and those minutes alongside Fox increasing as well.

Head coach Luke Walton said Haliburton continues to impress, hit big shots and that “he’s one of those players you feel confident when the ball is in his hands.” And having Fox and Haliburton together on the floor gives the team a “dynamic offense” with speed and multiple playmakers.

“We’re going to continue to develop him and continue to give him those opportunities,” Walton said.

Haliburton said he always had a really good feeling about the pairing, and it is one of the first thoughts that came to mind when the Kings drafted him.

“I think that’s why they brought me here; to help alongside De’Aaron,” said Haliburton, who finished the game with 13 points, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 3 rebounds in 25 minutes. “I feel like we’re learning each other very well.”

Haliburton thinks he can help take some pressure off Fox, just like he did late in Tuesday’s game.

“He’s our guy, we follow him, he takes us to the next level and we just got to follow him and make plays and make it as easy as possible on him,” he said.

Whether it is coming off screens to make plays with “Big Rich” [Holmes] as he calls him, getting his hands in passing lanes, altering shots, or hitting threes, Haliburton is proving he can deliver. And with Fox showing he is able to take over games when it is needed and be the leader the team needs, having another player to not only allow him to rest, but also excel next to him is a major positive.

Speaking of “Big Rich,” he had this to say about the rookie after the game:

“I can’t believe he went as low as he did, honestly, in the draft,” Holmes said. “He’s got vision, he plays a couple plays ahead, he sees the game a couple plays ahead, and just his IQ, his feel for the game, he knows where people are supposed to be, he knows when to hit people, he knows when the shot is open, he just knows how to play basketball. He has such a high IQ and it’s an absolute joy to play the game with him.”

Want to see some stats?

Kings defensive rating
Haliburton on: 104
Haliburton off: 112.7
Differential: -8.7

Kings net rating
Haliburton on: +4.5
Haliburton off: -1.8
Differential: +6.3

— SactownBabyGiraffe (@TimMaxwell22) December 30, 2020

Tyrese Haliburton in four games:

42 points
8 rebounds
21 assists
3 turnovers
4 steals
2 blocks
16/30 FG (53%)
8/16 3P (50%)
6/6 FT (100%)
+8

— SactownBabyGiraffe (@TimMaxwell22) December 30, 2020

Turnovers to assists among first round guards:

Haliburton: 21 to 3
Anthony: 17 to 3
Hayes: 14 to 10
Ball: 9 to 8
Pritchard: 8 to 8
Edwards: 7 to 2

— SactownBabyGiraffe (@TimMaxwell22) December 30, 2020

Want to see more praise? Here is more from Fox:

“He plays with a lot of confidence. He understands the game so well. He threw a post entry and like did a spin and we’re like sitting there laughing on the bench, like he has a swag to the game,” Fox said.

Want to see that spin pass?

Haliburton is unreal, man

pic.twitter.com/uM2flJSH5J

— Kevin Fippin (@kfippin) December 30, 2020

“But we’re confident in him doing anything. We’re both in the game and I’ll play off ball because I know he’s able to play out of the pick and roll, he’s able to create a shot for himself, or someone else. He plays beyond his years and we all have the upmost confidence in him with the ball. Even in a tight game like this against a team like Denver, and he steps to the occasion, he’s played well. He’s only played four games in his career and you would have thought that he’s played a few years already,” Fox said.

Thanks for reading The Haliburton Herald!