As the New York Knicks prepare to host the Pacers at MSG for the second time this season, Tyrese Haliburton will be a player to watch, and not only because he’s Indiana’s leading scorer.
After the Knicks’ 109-106 win over the Pacers on Dec. 18, current MSG Network analyst and former NBA player Wally Szczerbiak went on a little rant about how he feels about Haliburton. Szczerbiak, who was named an All-Star during the 2001-02 season when he was in Minnesota, referred to the Pacers guard as a “wannabe, fake All-Star” after he missed the potential game-winning shot. Wally called Haliburton a “very good player” but said that he won’t be named an All-Star.
Since then, Haliburton talked about Szcerbiak’s comments in an interview with Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks. When asked why Szcerbiak chose to criticize him, Haliburton said: “I have no clue. I know the name Wally Szczerbiak, but I couldn’t tell you where he played. I couldn’t tell you what he did as a basketball player. I don’t know.”
Shortly after Szcerbiak’s comments went viral, he issued an on-air apology to Haliburton, but that doesn’t mean that the situation has been put in the past. Ahead of the New York-Indiana game tonight, Haliburton was a guest on The Woj Pod.
Pacers-Knicks at MSG tonight. Full audio of Tyrese Haliburton on The Woj Pod: https://t.co/8fDfLIhiLg pic.twitter.com/ol608u1981
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 11, 2023
Tyrese Haliburton reveals Wally Szczerbiak’s comments shifted momentum ahead of Knicks-Pacers matchup
When speaking with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Haliburton agreed that Szczerbiak’s comments actually helped his All-Star candidacy. He said:
"“It pushed me because after that game we went to play Boston and I had a really good game in Boston. Then I went to Miami and had my career-high in Miami, so all the momentum has been going in the right way since then. We’re playing really well and winning games. Like you said, it’s brought more eyes to me as a player.”"
Haliburton added that he hasn’t spoken to Szczerbiak directly, but that the analyst has reached out to people in his life. Woj asked Haliburton if he has any interest in talking to Szczerbiak, to which Tyrese said, “Nah, zero.” As Woj noted, perhaps Szczerbiak will try to speak to Haliburton before Wednesday night’s game at the Garden.
Since scoring 15 points in the loss to the Knicks, Haliburton has averaged 22.7 points, 9.2 assists, and 4.0 assists while shooting 50.6 percent from the field and 44.6 percent from three. His name appeared on the first All-Star fan returns that were released last Friday with 281,691 votes while Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle’s names weren’t included.
Ironically enough, Szczerbiak’s comments have actually worked in Haliburton’s favor. He does have a solid All-Star case and it would be nice to see both him and Brunson in Salt Lake City in February. Before we make it that far, though, let’s hope that Haliburton doesn’t go on a tear and top his career-high 43 points against the Knicks later this evening.
Reacting to SNY’s proposed Obi Toppin Knicks-Pacers trade
Given that the Knicks have reportedly had trade discussions with the Pacers about Obi Toppin, let's analyze a proposed New York-Indiana deal from SNY.