How Tyrese Haliburton's historic assist-to-turnover efforts are setting the tone for surprising Pacers
SAN FRANCISCO -- Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle looked sternly at the stat sheet to begin his postgame conference, just moments before he would unleash an avalanche of praise toward his dynamic rookie guard. No, not Bennedict Mathurin -- the No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 draft who leads the NBA in bench scoring. The other rookie guard. After an improbable road win over the Golden State Warriors in early December without their two best players, the conversation was solely focused on Andrew Nembhard, whom Carlisle promptly dubbed a "top 10" talent in his draft class despite being a second-round pick. Nembhard was the best player on a court he shared with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, putting up 31 points and 13 assists against in a 112-104 win. At one point late in the fourth quarter, Nembhard left Curry no recourse but to shake his head in disbelief after a demoralizing step-back 3-...