A recent decision made by Team USA regarding Tyrese Haliburton is quite interesting. The majority of basketball fans will know that Haliburton is one of the few young stars from the United States chosen to represent the country in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
Although Haliburton has established himself as a certified elite talent with the Indiana Pacers this season and managed to carry them to the Eastern Conference Finals, recent reports indicate that he might not find as much success on the roster for Team USA. This should undoubtedly make fans wonder if he has a spot on the team. With that being said, let us take a closer look and find out more.
Tyrese Haliburton has seen little playing time on Team USA
Tyrese Haliburton and Anthony Edwards were the only young stars chosen to play for Team USA. The others on the roster are seasoned veterans and NBA champions. Due to the amount of depth that Team USA has, one can certainly understand why Tyrese has not been given a lot of time on the court.
During Team USA’s exhibition games, Tyrese Haliburton was slowly phased out of the rotation entirely by Steve Kerr:
Canada = 20 minutes
Serbia = 15 minutes
South Sudan = 7 minutes
Germany = 0 minutesHaliburton, who was one of the key players on Team USA’s FIBA roster, appears… pic.twitter.com/7SrpHzOPuE
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) July 22, 2024
Be that as it may, it still surprised fans to find out that his minutes have been reducing steadily as the exhibition games have gone on. In fact, Haliburton did not get any playing time in Team USA’s most recent matchup against Germany. He watched from the sidelines as his team ended up winning.
While Haliburton may be the least experienced and accomplished member on the roster, it is fully possible that Team USA will come to regret this decision given their current situation.
Team USA will need Tyrese Haliburton’s playmaking in the 2024 Olympics
Although Team USA won all of their exhibition games, many of them were much closer than expected and went down to the wire. NBA experts have claimed that the chemistry and ball movement that other teams utilize is lacking with Team USA.
Given that Haliburton averaged an impressive 10.9 assists last season and is undoubtedly the best facilitator on Team USA, not keeping him on the court against teams that emphasize ball movement may not be the right decision. In any case, it is almost certain that fans will use this as an explanation in the event that Team USA wins the 2024 Paris Olympics.