Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves praises Tyrese Haliburton's passing for Team USA
In Tyrese Haliburton's first outing with Team USA of the summer, his role was clear. The Indiana Pacers guard had 12 assists but only attempted five shots as he guided the team's second unit.
His job was obvious — push the pace and get others involved. Haliburton occasionally hunted for gaps to score, and he finished a crafty driving layup in the fourth quarter. But in general, he was a distributor and floor general, and he thrived in that role. Team USA outscored Puerto Rico by 24 with Haliburton on the court on Monday.
Haliburton was looking forward to the experience of playing with some premier talent for the red, white, and blue, and he showed out in his first outing.
His teammates took notice. According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Team USA is experimenting with lineups that contain multiple ball handlers that can pass, and Haliburton is one of them. The Pacers guard received praise from his teammates after his first performance.
"The way he plays just empowers everybody. He likes to run in transition and he gets everybody involved," Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves said, per Vardon, of Haliburton. "I don't know if he took two or three shots [in Saturday's scrimmage], but he probably had five, six, seven assists. And just the way that he plays and gets everybody involved is something that I enjoy."
Reaves was also terrific with nine points and four assists. Team USA, led by head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors, toyed with lineups featuring Haliburton, Reaves, and Jalen Brunson. At one point, Anthony Edwards replaced Reaves. The squad tried several multi-guard units, especially in the second half.
Haliburton did well in them. Truly, he shined in any lineup and led his team in +/-. He had an excellent outing and proved that he can elevate the team in his distributing role.
According to Vardon, Haliburton got tips from 12-time All-Star Chris Paul about getting other guys the ball. Paul has two Olympic gold medals for the national team, and he attended a practice before Team USA's first scrimmage ahead of World Cup play this summer.
"Guys who have feel and can pass, they can play with anybody," Kerr said, per Vardon.
Haliburton also shared many of his own thoughts about his role and the guards on Team USA. You can read the whole story in The Athletic here.
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