Thanks, but no thanks.
That was essentially the message from Tyrese Haliburton to Wally Szczerbiak as the Pacers visited the Garden on Wednesday night, losing 119-113 to the Knicks.
The Pacers’ star point guard has no interest in hearing what Szczerbiak has to say after the MSG Network analyst criticized him following the Knicks’ win in Indiana on Dec. 18.
“Nah, zero,” Haliburton said on “The Woj Pod.” Szczerbiak has reached out to people close to Haliburton, but Haliburton has declined to speak to him.
Szczerbiak went at Haliburton after the first meeting between the two teams, calling him “Mr. supposed wannabe fake All-Star.”
“He’s a very good player, he’s not gonna make the All-Star team,” Szczerbiak said then. “A guy like Julius Randle or Jalen Brunson will make it over Tyrese Haliburton. Tonight we saw why.”
Haliburton, who is averaging 20.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists this year, has led the Pacers to a surprisingly successful season. Even with Wednesday’s loss, Indiana has won seven of 10 and is tied with the Knicks for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. But Haliburton left the loss Wednesday in the third quarter with 15 points and seven assists after sustaining a knee injury and left the arena on crutches. But still, the Szczerbiak’s comments seemed to have motivated him.
“For sure, it pushed me, because after that game we went and played Boston. I had a really good game in Boston. Then went to Miami, had my career high in Miami,” Haliburton said. “All the momentum has been going in the right way since then. We’re playing really well, winning games. It just brought more eyes to me as a player that could’ve went positively or negatively. I think my team has rallied around me. We’re just playing really well since then.”
In an ironic twist, Haliburton could have been a Knick. But team president Leon Rose passed on him in the 2020 draft, selecting Obi Toppin instead at eighth overall. Haliburton eventually went 12th to the Kings and was later traded to the Pacers.
Szczerbiak has since apologized on air for what he said, but he has yet to have a chance to speak directly to Haliburton about it, and the Pacers guard doesn’t seem to want to give him that opportunity.
Prior to Wednesday’s game, Szczerbiak again addressed the issue on the air, raving about Haliburton the player and admitted he has eaten crow since the initial comments. Szczerbiak, though, isn’t ready to say Haliburton will make an All-Star team this year.
“He has been absolutely outstanding the way he’s been playing. His team’s on a tear, they’ve won eight of 10,” Szczerbiak said. “He’s scoring 43 it seems like on any given night, making big shots for his team. Remember, he also leads the league in assists. He’s a great playmaker, he’s a young star. He might not be an All-Star this year. It’s going to be tough between Brunson, Randle and Haliburton. But in the future. He’s going to be an All-Star for sure, and I have a lot of respect for his game. The guy can flat-out ball.”
Prior to Szczerbiak’s comments, MSG’s Monica McNutt called Haliburton “Troy,” instead of Tyrese. She was quickly corrected.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle didn’t make too much of the back and forth, but if it is helping his team, he’s not going to complain. Most importantly, he’s thrilled that Haliburton is a Pacer.
“Guys like that who are really special players, they find ways to get motivated, and if there’s external stuff that’s there, that’s great,” Carlisle said. “But if there isn’t, they’re going to get better anyway because they’re going to keep working.”