Tyrese Haliburton is actually devastatingly underrated
Good morning, Winners! This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Here’s Mike Sykes.
Tyrese Haliburton's peers voted him in as the most overrated player in the NBA, according to an annual anonymous player poll that The Athletic puts together.
That tag has really followed him from arena to arena since that player poll was published. Entire crowds — including the crowd whose heart he broke in Cleveland on Tuesday night — have called him underrated in the middle of games. Considering the result of these games, I'm not sure they should keep it up. Donovan Mitchell knows what's up.
I don't know what drove the consensus on this guy. What makes people believe Haliburton is overrated? Maybe it's because he wasn't an All-Star this year. Maybe it's because his jump shot is goofy. Maybe it's because Indiana got off to such a bad start earlier this season.
Honestly, I have no clue. But what I do know is that the man is definitely not overrated. Not one bit. In fact, I think it's pretty safe to say that he's underrated at this point, considering that everyone seems to think he's overrated.
I've got two stats for you. First, after Tuesday night's game, Haliburton is now 10-11 on shots to tie or take the lead in the last two minutes of games this season, according to Carson Beber of Volume Sports.
Here's every single shot:
NEVER SCARED: Haliburton pulled out the Sam Cassell celebration after hitting the biggest shot of his season so far
That's the little stat. According to ESPN, here's the big one: Teams are 3-1,670 when trailing by seven points or more in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime. Two of those wins came from the Pacers in these playoffs. They both came on Tyrese Haliburton shots.
Is this series over? No, not quite. Injuries have devastated the Cavaliers so far, but if they get some of their key guys back, Cleveland can claw its way back into this. But if the game is close and the Pacers are down late, I'm trusting Haliburton to make plays to at least give his team a chance.
Not sure how overrated you can be when you're hitting shots like this. Haliburton has the Pacers positioned as real contenders. Overrated, properly rated, or underrated, I'm sure Indiana is happy with this outcome regardless.
The Cowboys did a thing
Finally, after standing pat for offseason after offseason, the Cowboys have actually made a bit of a splashy move here.
Dallas traded for Steelers wide receiver George Pickens. Dallas is sending draft picks over to Pittsburgh for him, the team announced. The trade is expected to be finalized today. Cowboys fans are excited. CeeDee Lamb certainly is, too. Pickens' season of shenanigans doesn't seem to bother anyone in Dallas.
TRADE GRADES: Who won the deal between the Steelers and Cowboys? Here are our Pickens trade grades.
Can't blame them! The dude is good. He was arguably the best deep ball receiver in the NFL last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
That's a scary addition on the same team as Dak Prescott. This team should be pretty impressive next year.
Tom Brady is in Shedeur's corner
Shedeur Sanders has a lot of people rooting for him after his deep slide in the NFL draft. One of those people is his mentor, and people's GOAT QB, Tom Brady.
Brady had some motivating words to say to Sanders after his draft slide. He talked about it on the IMPAULSIVE pod. Here's more from our Cory Woodroof:
"On the recent IMPAULSIVE podcast, Brady explained how he reached out to Sanders to offer him some words of wisdom and support after his surprise draft drop.
“Day 2 matters more than the draft," Brady said on the show. "I was 199. So, who can speak on it better than me, like what that really means. Use it as motivation. You’re gonna get your chances. Go take advantage of it.”
I'd be ready to run through a wall after hearing that. I'm sure Shedeur is, too.
Quick hits: Steph Curry is OUT ... A'ja Wilson's A'One night ... and more
— Injuries have changed two of the four playoff series we're currently watching. What a shame. Here's Charles Curtis on Stephen Curry's hamstring injury.
— Here's Meg Hall on A'ja Wilson's big A'One sneaker release night with the Las Vegas Aces. What a fun time.
— Bryan Kalbrosky has more on Jimmy Butler and Buddy Hield's hilarious friendship. This is great.
— Angel Reese's mom took a shot at Caitlin Clark fans. Charles Curtis has more.
— Cory Woodroof wrote a fantastic review of Marvel's Thunderbolts* that you absolutely need to read.
— We officially won't have a triple-crown winner this summer. Here's Prince Grimes with more.
That's a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. Peace.
-Sykes ✌️