NBA's Adam Silver: Pacers and Tyrese Haliburton provide 'a great storyline' for IST finals
LAS VEGAS -- The Pacers have embraced their Cinderella role in this In-Season Tournament, noting repeatedly that no one expected them to be playing in Saturday's finals against LeBron James at 8:30 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena. Veteran wing Buddy Hield went so far as to say the league didn't even want the Pacers in the final four that began Thursday.
"Let's keep it real," he said after the Pacers beat Boston in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals, "Boston Celtics sounds a lot better."
That being said, it's not such a bad thing for the league that, on one hand, in the first In-Season Tournament championship, they have the most established superstar in the league and one of the best players of all-time in LeBron James and on the other half they have a budding young superstar in Tyrese Haliburton who has been deeply underexposed in his first four years. A lot of NBA fans, at least those who don't shell out the money for NBA League Pass, are getting their most extensive look at Haliburton even though he's already been an All-Star and held a spot on the U.S. senior men's national team in this year's FIBA World Cup.
Pacers Buddy Hield: 'I don't think the league really wants Indiana in the final four'
Commissioner Adam Silver was asked (by the IndyStar) during a pre-game press conference on Saturday about Haliburton's play and the draw of having arguably the most exposed team in the league in the Lakers and one of the least exposed playing against each other. Silver said he considered it a good outcome for the event to have a young star pitted against the league's all-time leading scorer.
"I think a lot of people on a national level forget that he was an All-Star last year," Silver said of Haliburton. "He has been recognized already as a top player, but it's a great storyline. To your point, to see one of the most storied players in NBA history here in the tournament together with a young team led by Tyrese, the enthusiasm that Tyrese and his teammates have brought to this competition, I think, in a positive way with a bit of a chip on their shoulder, maybe not the same kind of national exposure that other teams get, not that many national dates on our calendar. But they're seeing it in a positive way. I spent some time yesterday with that team. We did a community event with the Boys and Girls Club with a few of their players. They were embracing it. They see it as an opportunity."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs. Lakers: Adam Silver calls Pacers 'a great storyline'
