Overestimate or misunderstanding: How much is Halliburton worth?

Terres Halliburton, the 12th pick in the first round of the 2020 draft, has received a lot of attention since entering the league, especially after being traded by the Kings to the Pacers.

No matter what the previous controversial deal between the Kings and the Pacers have achieved in recent years, the Pacers have already achieved excellent enough last season. This season, he led the team to defeat the top seed in the division in five games in the second round, entering the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive time. This is definitely a great enough team resume for a 25-year-old defender.

On the other hand, the fifth-grade defender seemed to easily play some bad moments, just like in the third game of the semifinals, he made just 2 of 8 shots in 30 minutes and ended up with just 4 points.

It is precisely because of such ups and downs that it is difficult not to make him a controversial figure. Some people use the word "overestimate" to describe him, while others consider him the best key player.

So, what is the situation with Halliburton? Is his impact on the team's winning rate really as trivial as some people think? Or is his doubters just not understanding Halliburton's value all along?

Personally, I found that Halliburton's game mode seems to be a bit similar to the current Trail Blazers coach Bilips, not to say that it is a similar player style, but that both of them are difficult to measure with traditional data. Billups is more like a point guard with good physical fitness and well-organized play, while Halliburton is a fast-moving engine player.

This is an excellent case. Billups proves that shooting percentage does not directly measure the team's pattern. However, shooting percentage does not take into account the free throw and three-point shooting percentage. It happens that Lupus is good at creating fouls, and his three-point shooting percentage is as high as 43.3%, so in this data, he is always misunderstood.

, and Halliburton also had a similar phenomenon, with averaging 18.6 points per game in the regular season, and there was basically not much improvement in the playoffs. A player should be the best player in the league's strongest offensive team and the core of the division finals. How could his scoring data be so low?

A very direct answer: basketball is far more than just scoring.

And a little more detailed answer, many data cannot truly reflect Halliburton's value on the field.

Halliburton is the core of the team not because of his scoring ability, but because of his offensive decisions and control of the game rhythm. In the regular season of the 2024-25 season, he averaged 9.2 assists per game, ranking second in the league's back line, second only to Trae Young, leading all NBA defenders in assists and losses.

And as we understand from the Suns' 7-second offense, the best shot time often occurs when the offensive clock starts to run and the defense has not had time to set up the lineup. Halliburton happens to be the implementer of this strategy. He always creates mobile phone opportunities for himself and his teammates before the defense can adapt.

Even if you hit a shot, Halliburton can remain calm, carefully observe the situation on the field, find the weakest point in defense, and send a long pass directly into the opponent's heart within a few seconds.

Although Halliburton was only recorded as an assist for this kind of attack, he was the only reason for the attack to be realized. For most players holding the ball, they will stare at the opponent simply picking up the rebound and dribbling, but Halliburton won't, and he is used to turning around immediately after getting the rebound to seek an offensive opportunity.

So, how do we quantify such characteristics?

According to statistics, Halliburton ranks second in the NBA this season, which means he has strong enough control over the team's offense. Therefore, we can compare the team's offensive efficiency when he is on the court and not on the court.

When Halliburton was present, the Pacers scored 116.8 points per 100 rounds, but when he was not present, the figure dropped to 109.7 points. For reference, the Thunder's Alexander's presence and absent data are 120.7 points and 110.6 points respectively, while the Bucks' presence and absent data are 117.6 points and 108 points, which is also the same trend that exists in this type of ball-holding star.

We can use other data to represent Halliburton's game value. At present, Halliburton's defensive effective score (DRIP) tied for the sixth in the league (4.3), and the offensive effective score (O-DRIP) ranked sixth in the league. Compared with Billups, if you dig deeper into your personal data, Halliburton seems to be better and more like an All-Star player.

If you think about it carefully, you can still find that Halliburton's Pacers are a bit like the 21st Century Billups Pistons. Interestingly, their current head coach Carlisle has coached the team before. In addition to the similar guards who are misunderstood by traditional standards, the strength of the two teams, Pacers and Pistons, is also in the balanced type.

In the live broadcast of the third game between the Pacers and the Cavaliers, ESPN commentator Burke quoted a sentence from player Miles Turner:

This Halliburton teammate previously interviewed reporters: As a team, we each have a clear role positioning.

Haliburton, Turner, Nembhard, Siakam, Nesmith and other role players not only do a good job of complementing each other, but they also understand how to keep the team running smoothly. Referring to this point, the Pacers are indeed very similar to the Pistons' lineups composed of Billups, Hamilton, Prince, Rashid Wallace and Ben Wallace. From the perspective of many fans, they believe that this lineup is the best example of basketball for teams without a star lineup..

Of course, the Pistons were also regular visitors in the division finals, and they even won the NBA championship trophy in 2004. Now, the Pacers have also entered the division finals twice in a row. Under the leadership of the same team core, they have gradually begun to embark on the same path as their predecessors, but can they win the championship? We will be able to find out soon.