The final of the first NBA In-Season Tournament will take place on Sunday night (2:30 a.m.): The Los Angeles Lakers meet the Indiana Pacers in Las Vegas. While the Lakers warn about Pacers shooting star Tyrese Haliburton, he is looking forward to the duel against his great idol LeBron James. Meanwhile, Commissioner Adam Silver is bringing rule changes for the tournament into play. All important information about the final.
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NBA In-Season Tournament: Tyrese Haliburton is looking forward to “Idol” LeBron James
Point guard Tyrese Haliburton is the shooting star of the new NBA season. With his Pacers he defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks in the In-Season Tournament – or in other words: the top four teams of the regular season in the East last season.
Now it’s against LeBron James and the Lakers – and Haliburton can hardly wait. “Like every boy born in 2000, LeBron was my favorite player growing up,” he revealed Friday. “I was a Cavs fan first, then a Heat fan, then a Cavs fan again, and then a Lakers fan before I got drafted. That’s just how it was.”
Now being able to compete against the King in a final is “a bit like a perfect ending in a novel. It will be a lot of fun. That’s the great thing about the NBA, that you get to compete against your own idols every night. I’m looking forward to that “I’m very happy,” emphasized Haliburton.
“LeBron James is still at the peak of his career,” said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who won the title with the Mavericks in 2011 against the Heat around James. “He is the only player in NBA history to be both the youngest and oldest player in the league.” Pacers guard TJ McConnell put it this way: “They’re on a roll and LeBron… Grim Reaper is usually undefeated, but right now he’s beating him.”
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NBA In-Season Tournament: Los Angeles Lakers prepare for Tyrese Haliburton
Haliburton has already managed a game with at least 25 points, 15 assists and not a single turnover three times this season. No other player has achieved this more often – over the entire career. The Lakers are accordingly warned. “He’s surprisingly athletic,” said head coach Darvin Ham. “He has the length and his vision is incredible.” Haliburton is “constantly in attack mode.” His conclusion: “They’ve got a gem there, man.”
Indiana Pacers around Tyrese Haliburton inspire: Spectacle guaranteed with the perfect Cup team
The 23-year-old is currently averaging almost 27 points, shooting 52.5 percent from the field and over 44 percent from the three-point line. The Pacers lead the league with 128.4 points per game. “Nobody plays as fast as her,” said Austin Reaves, who knows Haliburton from Team USA over the summer. “Whether they’re in transition or not – to be honest, it’s always in transition for them, even if you score, they’re right back there.”
The Lakers allow an average of 15.3 fast break points, which is 25th in the league. Indiana, conversely, scores over 17 points per fast break, second in the NBA.
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NBA In-Season Tournament: Commissioner Adam Silver talks rule changes
Not all players liked the fact that the point difference between the teams – the so-called “point differential” – also played a role in the group phase; after all, they had to continue to push the envelope even in blowouts. Commissioner Adam Silver believes that rule reform in this regard is possible in the future.
“This tournament should be a fixed point, so we are open to changes,” he said on ESPN. “If the American audience doesn’t see it in the spirit of sportsmanship to win as big as possible, maybe we need to look into it.”
Silver also believes a new location for the tournament is possible. This time the semi-finals and finals will take place in Las Vegas. There could be a rotating host, like the All-Star Game, or home-field advantage for the teams. However, the latter is difficult to organize in the short term. “Scheduling games at the last minute is not a good thing for home fans,” he warned.
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NBA In-Season Tournament: Lakers im Finale Favorit
The Los Angeles Lakers are slight favorites with the bookmakers on Sunday night (2:30 a.m.). So they are viewed as 4.5 points better than the Pacers at BetMGM. There is also a Laker ahead when it comes to “Tournament MVP”: LeBron James is the favorite for the award, but Tyrese Haliburton follows right behind.
NBA – The Offense First Teams of the past years
SeasonTeamRecordOffenseDefensePlayoffs2014/15Toronto Raptors49-333rd place25Out in round one (0-4 against Wizards)2016/17Denver Nuggets40-4240th place29Playoffs missed2019/20Portland Trail Blazers35-3935th place27Out in round one (1-4 against Lakers)2020/21Portland Trail Blazers42 -302nd place29th placeOut in round one (2-4 against Nuggets)2021/22Atlanta Hawks43-392nd place26th placeOut in round one (1-4 against Heat)2022/23Sacramento Kings48-341st place24th placeOut in round one (3-4 against Warriors) 2023/24 Indiana Pacers 11-8 1st 28th??
2023-12-09 23:11:29
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