The NBA playoffs are down to their final four teams, leaving the best of the best remaining.
The New York Knicks are set to face off against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, a matchup featuring two elite point guards.
Jalen Brunson led his team to a series win against the Boston Celtics, and Tyrese Haliburton did the same against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Apparently, after watching both series, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith believes Brunson is a superstar, and Haliburton is not.
“Brunson is (a superstar), not Haliburton. He’s not there yet. He is not overrated, Haliburon is not overrated, he can play, he can close, and I give him mad credit for that, but he’s not a superstar,” Smith said Monday.
Smith goes on to mention how Brunson was awarded the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year Award, making him a closer. Interestingly putting him in the same category as he mentioned with Haliburton.
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The two all-star point guards are the main reason their respective teams have made it this far, taking out the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds along the way.
The argument is there to be made, with NBA players around the league majority voting that Haliburton is the league’s most overrated player. While he does not score nearly as much as a guy like Brunson, his system is not built for that.
He averages over 9 assists per game, along with 18.6 points. The Knicks’ rotation is short, likely just playing seven real players in any given playoff game, while the Pacers have a plethora of guys they can go to off their bench.
The reason they are so successful and have made back-to-back conference finals appearances is because of the team built around him.
It is hard to gauge the level of play for any individual, but there is no doubt that Haliburton impacts the game in many positive ways.
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