Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has built a certain reputation in his career. Despite being the 2025 NBA MVP and getting 30-balls like it’s like light work for him, he hasn’t been able to escape the “foul-baiter” and “free throw merchant” allegations. And when you compare his situation to Tyrese Haliburton during these NBA Finals, the picture becomes clearer.

So far, SGA has shot at least 6 free throws a game in this series. And with 25.1 seconds left in the first quarter of Game 1 in the 2025 NBA Finals, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drained his first free throw of the series. Well, guess how long it took for Hali?

Only after playing 177 minutes of NBA Finals basketball did Tyrese Haliburton shoot his first free throw.  Yes, Hali’s trip to the line came in Game 4 of the Finals! He has over 60 points in the series so far. Now, hasn’t been his best output in terms of points, but getting no calls against OKC may be a reason why.

Tyrese Haliburton ended Game 4 with 3/3 free throws made. Even so, that still means Hali has more NBA Finals appearances than free throws shot or made in said appearances. Isn’t that a crazy stat? On the other hand, SGA has 36 free throws in the same number of appearances. That’s 12 times more than his Indiana Pacers counterpart! Warranted or not, these stats don’t help his reputation as a “free-throw merchant”. 

But does this really explain Tyrese Haliburton’s low output in the Finals so far? Let’s look at some of his games in the earlier stages of these Playoffs and see if this is unusual for the 25-year-old or if it’s just a part of his game and a coincidence.

Is this a worrying sign for Tyrese Haliburton or just business as usual?

Now, this is actually the first time that Tyrese Haliburton has gone free-throwless in back-to-back Playoff games. However, he’s had games in both the first round of the Playoffs and the Eastern Conference Semifinals, where he hasn’t been to the line even once.

It happened in Game 3 against both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers. And even though he scored 14 points against the Bucks, he could only muster a measly 4 points against the Cavs. That said, there’s actually a reason for this. And it’s the very reason why the Pacers are such an offensive threat for any team.

The way the Indiana Pacers move the ball is second to none. While the Oklahoma City Thunder tend to run their offense through Shai, the Pacers don’t have that problem. The way they create chances and open looks is by passing the ball around to their whole team, not just to Tyrese Haliburton or Pascal Siakam. This has led to them making the most passes per game of any team in the Playoffs with 316.7!

That means fewer chances for Hali to be fouled. And guess what that leads to? You’re right — fewer free throws in a game. So, ultimately, the fact that Haliburton took over 4 games to get his first free throw shouldn’t concern you, Pacers fans. It’s just business as usual!