Inside The Wizards

How Should The Wizards Handle Tyrese Haliburton Tonight?

What The Wizards Need To Do To Slow Down All Star Tyrese Haliburton Tonight?
SI Editorial|
How Should The Wizards Handle Tyrese Haliburton Tonight?
How Should The Wizards Handle Tyrese Haliburton Tonight?

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Washington WizardsIndiana Pacers

The Wizards are back at home tonight as they are hosting one of the league’s premier players, Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton has made quite the name for himself as he was able to take his team to the NBA’s very first In Season Tournament Championship game. Meanwhile, on the other side, the Wizards find themselves on yet another losing streak that has stretched out to six now. Part of the reason is the injury bug that they have been riddled with. Will the Wizards end this six game losing streak? Will Tyrese Haliburton continue making the case as a potential MVP Canidate this season? Find out tonight at 7PM Eastern Time.

How to Watch Washington Wizards vs. Indiana Pacers today:

Game Date: December 15, 2023

Game Time: 7:00 p.m. EST

TV: Monumental Sports Network, NBA League Pass

Stream: Youtube TV

From: Capital One Arena in Washington DC

Projected Starters

Washington Wizards:

Guards: Jordan Poole (Game Time Decision), Tyus Jones

Forwards: Kyle Kuzma, Deni Avdija

Center: Daniel Gafford

Indiana Pacers:

Guards: Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield

Forwards: Obi Toppin, Bruce Brown

Center: Myles Turner

Injury Report

Washington Wizards:

Delon Wright: OUT (Knee)

Ryan Rollins: OUT (Knee)

Johnny Davis: OUT (Calf)

Landry Shamet: OUT (Rib)

Eugene Omoyuri: Day-To-Day (Concussion)

Jordan Poole: Day-To-Day (Ankle)

The Bottom Line

It is often hard to focus on the defensive end of the floor in today’s NBA simple because everything is focused so much on offense. Nobody tends to really care too much about defense and it shows as everyone is scoring well over 100+ points per game this season. Well tonight, the Wizards better care about defense and let them be a focus point for them too. 

How will they stop or slow down Tyrese Haliburton who is playing at an MVP level? If only Delon Wright was available. If he was, they could consider even starting him for that very reason. Since he is not, the Wizards should consider starting Bilal Coulibaly. Haliburton isn’t like the average point guard. He is tall and poses a mismatch problem for opponents at 6’5. He was a pass first point guard early in his career but now he is beginning to become a scoring threat too. 

Another option is to run a zone defense against him and the Pacers. That allows them to play and work together as a team defensively. No one will be solely responsible for any of the Pacers offensive threats. Defense is the key to win this game for the Washington Wizards.

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