Three Things I Noticed on League Pass
Tyrese Haliburton's jumper, OG Anunoby's drives, and Scotty Pippen Jr.'s passing
Hit the jump for this week’s edition of Three Things I Noticed on League Pass, starring Tyrese Haliburton, OG Anunoby, and Scotty Pippen Jr.
Tyrese Haliburton, pulling up
Haliburton is in a nice groove right post. Post-All-Star break, he looks a lot like the player he did for most of last season before getting hurt. He's averaging 21.5 points and 11.3 assists per game since the break. Oh, and he's shooting 45.2% from beyond the arc.
The return of his elite off-the-dribble shooting, in particular, is a welcome development. Off two or more dribbles, he's outperforming his expected effective field-goal percentage by 15.7 percentage points, according to Second Spectrum. He’s doing this kind of stuff all the time.
OG Anunoby, bulldozing
Prior to Jalen Brunson’s injury, Anunoby was averaging a scant 7.0 drives per 100 possessions, via Second Spectrum. Since Brunson went down, that number has rocketed up to 11.2 drives per 100 as Anunoby has taken it upon himself to get more involved in the offense.
And he’s not just attacking off the bounce — he’s doing so with incredible force.
He’s scored 20-plus points in a career-high-tying six straight games, and he’s averaging 22.8 per game since Brunson left the lineup. He's averaging 10 two-point shots and 5 free-throw attempts per night during that stretch, compared with 7 twos and 2.5 freebies before it. He and Mikal Bridges are keeping New York’s offense afloat without the captain.
Scotty Pippen Jr., decisive passer
I love the way Pippen is playing of late. Specifically, I love the way he’s willing to get off the ball quickly on the drive to find the open man, whether it’s a shooter on the perimeter or a cutter slicing to the rim.
Pippen has turned himself into a really nice player — a legit rotation guy. And he’s been even better than that for the last month or so. In just 25 minutes a night, he’s averaging 5.4 assists against only 1.6 turnovers per game. He made a few starts in place of Ja Morant and more than looked the part in those games.
The four-year deal to which Memphis signed him (which includes two partially-guaranteed seasons at the end of it) looks like a steal. He should be Morant’s primary backup and fill-in starter for the foreseeable future.