Just as the Indiana Pacers were getting into the flow of things for the new season, they put up a dud against the New York Knicks. Star guard Tyrese Haliburton went scoreless in the game which played a massive part into why they lost.
His performance comes after a shaky start in the season opener that saw him score just 15 points in a win. Haliburton showed a lot of promise last year, leading the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals but it has been a tough start to the year.
But despite this, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle isn't too concerned with the struggles of his star guard.
"I thought Tyrese did a very good job of keeping his emotions in check and continuing to try to play," Carlisle said. "Look, nights like this are going to happen to the best players in the world. We all have to take our medicine on this."
Carlisle isn't going to throwing his star under the bus but for him not to score a single point, it's a little concering. Haliburton has emerged as one of the better young players in the NBA so him having a game like this is very odd.
But it wasn't just Haliburton that struggled in this game. The entire Pacers starting lineup was outscored 102-31 by the Knicks starters.
Carlisle was more frustrated by the lack of effort throughout the game than on one indivudual performance. He knows how good this team can be so it's been strange to see them come out flat to open the year.
"Bad things at one end fed into bad things at the other," he said.
The Pacers have a quick turnaround and will be taking on the Philadelphia 76ers tomorrow. They will need a much better effort in that game if they want to come away with the win.
The schedule doesn't get much easier for them as they have matchups with the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, New Orleans Pelicans, and Dallas Mavericks upcoming.
"This is a gauntlet schedule that we start with," Carlisle said. "The game in Detroit was a bitch. This game obviously speaks for itself. Philly ... they're coming in desperate. We have to come in desperate, too. We have to fight and claw for everything at this point in the season.
If the Pacers want to replicate the success from last season, getting off to a good start would help. It won't be easy but this Indiana team has faced adversity and come out the other side.