Haliburton, Nembhard have they Olympic moments
Haliburton, Nembhard have they Olympic moments
The Pacers duo may not be playing starring roles role on their respective national teams, but they are seeing some action in Paris.
Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard are having an epic offseason, both playing for their respective national teams in the Paris Olympic Games. Pool play will wrap up on Saturday and it appears that Team USA and Team Canada will eventually face off with the gold medal on the line.
Canada held off Spain on Friday, 88-85 to finish 3-0 in the top spot of Group A pool play. After playing just 14 minutes in Canada’s first game against Greece, Nembhard played more than 20 minutes off the bench in following two games.
Nembhard’s game has looked quite familiar with his steady hand on offense and stout defensive presence showing up in a myriad, subtle ways. However, after making just two of eight shots in the first two games, Nembhard took control on the game for a couple of short stretches, finally finding his range to make 8 of 10 shots and finish with 18 points in the win over Spain.
Nembhard has seized his opportunities among a talented and crowded Canada backcourt rotation. While he has played on the second unit alongside Jamal Murray, those minutes extended to playing more minutes with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and/or RJ Barrett. Dude just knows how to compete and make winning plays and it rarely fails to show when he’s on the court.
Both Nembhard and Haliburton are having an exceptional experience playing with several other NBA players for the past month. While the preparation and work to get to game time may be a grind at times, spending off time at the Olympics has to be, not only fun, but inspiring. We’ve seen Haliburton at ping pong and gymnastics watching athletes who train and prepare for four year to have their moment and shot at a medal.
Haliburton finally had his Olympic moment on the court when Team USA beat South Sudan. With the addition of Derrick White and return of Kevin Durant, Tyrese has been essentially the 12th man on the roster, which was the expectation when the team was announced. During showcase play with only 10 players, Haliburton played well, impacting two of the games with his offensive mindset. But his defense eventually showed too many holes which allowed White to slide into the second rotation.
There is definitely a time and place for Haliburton to play with this group and he showed he was ready when called on by draining a pair of 3-balls after entering the game against South Sudan. Obviously, when the games tighten up Haliburton will be on the bench, but the work and experience playing and training with so many elite, Hall of Fame players will be the best souvenir Haliburton will bring back to Indy.
Well…second best, if the USA squad can close out their gold medal run. Let’s just hope that run includes a matchup against Canada, a team playing much better than they did in the showcase game which saw the US run away for a big win. But the size advantage the USA team enjoys with Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis playing huge, is well…huge, and also allows LeBron James and Kevin Durant to play their dynamic games and they are playing at a high level right now proving age is just a number.
While the world, check that, not the world, but people on X seem overly concerned about which players don’t play in the 40 minute games, the US squad, lead by LeBron and KD seem to have given themselves fully to the process, willing to do anything they need to do for the team to win. Considering that’s how Haliburton goes through life, it is easy to see why he is getting along so well with this elite hoop squad, regardless of his role.
Soon enough, Haliburton will be the No. 1 option, again at the Fieldhouse. Can’t wait to see how his experience in Paris impacts his game in Indy!