Tyrese Haliburton has big plans for his new Obi Toppin partnership: ‘Up there somewhere’
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July 2, 2023 7:38pm
Tyrese Haliburton is drinking the Obi Toppin Kool-Aid.
New York fans know the feeling well, dating back to 2020 when the Knicks selected Toppin with the No. 8 overall pick.
“Imma be on my Mahomes/Tyreek omg “F–k it, Obi up there somewhere,” Haliburton tweeted with accompanying crying emojis.
Toppin was traded from the Knicks on Saturday in return for two second-round picks from the Pacers.
His Knicks career ends as a disappointment, despite flashing bits of talent when given significant minutes to show off his skills.
In the final game of the 2021-2022 season, Toppin scored a career-high 42 points with 10 rebounds on 16-28 shooting and 6-14 from 3-point range.
Toppin is known for being a strong dunker, resulting in a winning performance at the 2022 NBA Dunk Contest.
The Pacers hope to use that skill, as they played extremely fast last season: Indiana ranked third in pace last season behind only the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs.
Haliburton envisions using Toppin’s athleticism to add to their fastbreak-heavy offense.
Their efficiency in that setting helped Indiana achieve 18.1 fastbreak points per game, the most in the league.
Patrick Mahomes might be the better passer of the two, but Haliburton did accrue 10.4 assists per game last season, behind only James Harden for the lead.
Mahomes threw for 50 passing touchdowns in 2018, the second most in NFL history, when his ace receiver Tyreek Hill had 1,479 receiving yards and 12 trips to the endzone.
This would duo in Indiana will have a lot of work to do to match the Mahomes-Hill level of success.
Originally posted in nypost.com