Shaq Issues Firm Challenge For Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton Amid Jalen Brunson Comparisons

After back-to-back NBA All-Star appearances, Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton will not be part of the annual exhibition game.

Hes still an important piece in a solid Pacers squad that is on track to make the 2024 NBA Playoffs, but there is a noticeable drop in form compared to what he showed in the past couple of campaigns.

Prior to Tuesday nights game between the Pacers and the New York Knicks, NBA legend and former Los Angeles Lakers superstar big man Shaquille ONeal shared his thoughts on Haliburton, particularly the guards need to step up, in anticipation of another meeting with Jalen Brunson.

Yeah, Im going to need Halliburton stepping up, Shaq said during the NBA on TNT pregame show.

Last year he was averaging 20, this year hes averaging 17.

I dont know whats going with him, so I was going to say he was in the first half Added Shaq: But, you know, you always want to do better than what you did last year.

And I think they should definitely, you know, really, really focus on this game.

Because like you said, last year in Game 7 they were able to have that game at home and win.

So right now, you know, Milwaukee is two games behind them, so they dont really want games to slip away.

But hes the guy, hes the best player on their team, well Im going to need him to step it up.

So Im challenging him to step it up to play better than what he did last year.

Shaq issues a challenge for Tyrese Haliburton ahead of tonight's Knicks-Pacers clash pic.twitter.com/aPWEvygYR6 NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 12, 2025 Tyrese Haliburton , Pacers fall to New York Knicks Well, Haliburton had decent contributions against the Knicks, scoring 16 points on 7-for-15 shooting to go with eight assists and four boards, but those numbers werent enough to overcome New York, which came away with a 128-115 victory.

For what its worth, Brunson didnt have a spectacular outing either, as he only had eight points, seven assists, and two boards.

The Pacers dropped to 29-23 and will look to get back on track this Wednesday against the Washington Wizards on the road..

This article has been shared from the original article on yardbarker, here is the link to the original article.