The number-one movie in the United States today is Final Destination: Bloodlines, the sixth film in a series that began 25 years ago. Number two is Thunderbolts, the latest from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which itself has been around nearly 20 years. Memorial Day weekend saw the release of two more expected blockbusters, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and the (mostly) live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch. The latter was originally released in 2002; the former is a 30-year-old film franchise based on a TV show from 60 years ago.
Is the past getting heavier? Are we in the present just lazier about moving on? What does it mean when time stops moving? Consider the case of Tyrese Haliburton.
The Pacers’ star is an equal opportunity iconoclast; he lives to poke whatever bears you got. Last year after defeating the Knicks in Game 7 of the Eastern conference semis, Haliburton wore a hoodie to his press conference featuring Reggie Miller’s famous “choke” gesture directed at Spike Lee and the 1994 Knicks after Miller’s legendary 25-point fourth quarter in Game 5 of the conference finals.
On more than one occasion he’s thrown Damian Lillard’s “Dame Time” celebration back in his face. Haliburton comes by it honestly: he had to publicly condemn his own father for getting in Giannis Antetokounmpo’s face immediately after the Bucks were eliminated by the Pacers in the first round. It all makes for good theater, right? And what NBA fan doesn’t like good theatre?
And then there was last night. The night where Haliburton may have crossed the line from mischief-maker to in over his head. Let me explain.
His buzzer-beating toe-on-the-line jumper capped a 14-point Pacer comeback over the last 2:51 of regulation. Haliburton — along with the 19,000 Knick fans present — initially thought he’d hit a game-winning 3. As soon as the ball hit the rim, caromed what felt like 20 feet high and then dropped clean through the net, he brought back the Reggie choke sign; he might even have been doing it for Miller, who was courtside calling the game on TV.
What a moment! He’s just hit the franchise’s biggest shot in over a decade, given them the lead in a conference finals for the first time since 2014, made himself and his team the story in all of sports ... and yet his immediate response was to reference something that happened more than 30 years ago? Wasn’t the moment enough? In and of itself?
Maybe the Pacers don’t mind. This is a team that does things differently than most, mostly successfully. Most teams tighten their rotation come playoff time to seven, eight guys; Indiana rode in with 10 and that’s who they’re rolling with. They’re now 9-2 in the playoffs and 5-1 on the road. The Knicks play at a tortoise pace under Tom Thibodeau, yet the Pacers manage to rope them into their world; in Game 1 New York scored 125 points in regulation, 135 total, and lost.
Still, Haliburton should be careful. NBA stars owed $200 million the next four years don’t have to settle for living in a glass house, but zooming out now and then can provide a world of perspective. By making the choke sign, he’s given the Knicks a motivational lifeline: without it, their focus for 48 hours would be entirely their own failings; now there’s a symbol to rally around.
And while confidence is a baseline requirement for any professional athlete, confidence built on a bedrock of delusion is how you get 17 years of Russell Westbrook shooting too many 3s. The healthiest team the Haliburton Pacers have beaten in the playoffs were the Cavaliers last round, when Darius Garland missed the first two games, joined by Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter in missing the decisive one-point Game 2 loss; Donovan Mitchell left Game 4 with an ankle injury.
Again: that was the healthiest playoff opponent the modern Indiana’s bested. They don’t owe any apologies for beating the Bucks last year without Giannis, and the Knicks when half their team was out injured, but bullies tend to go soft the moment they meet any resistance. Here Haliburton should absolutely be wary of the man he’s chosen to emulate.
Reggie Miller was a blowhard. Full stop. He was nearly as famous for coming up short as he was for shooting from afar. That famous choke sign from ‘94? The Pacers ended up choking. They were up 3-2 after that game and headed home with a chance to reach what would have been their first Finals. They lost Game 6, led by double-digits in the second half of Game 7 and lost that game too. A year later Miller shot just 5-of-13 in a Game 7 conference finals loss in Orlando. Four years later he’d face the Knicks again in the penultimate round, shooting 3-of-18 as the Pacers were upset. No matter how often he was left with egg on his face, Reggie couldn’t stop daring people to try him.
Haliburton seems hell-bent on copying a player he’s better than. Miller was a pure shooter and a clutch shooter; Haliburton’s both those things and so much more. But taunting a team you couldn’t stop from scoring for 53 minutes like you just won Game 7 instead of Game 1 of what figures to be a long series is something the old Pacer legend would have done. He never ended up winning a championship. Haliburton’s got time and talent on his side. Some wisdom wouldn’t hurt his chances any.