Notebook from day seven of Indiana Pacers training camp as Tyrese Haliburton practices

INDIANAPOLIS – As media entered the St Vincent Center on Monday afternoon, Tyrese Haliburton was at his usual post-practice basket shooting three pointers. Ben Sheppard and Jalen Slawson hovered nearby, helping with rebounding.

Haliburton's first turn through the Pacers usual shooting drill ended with disappointment. He missed too many threes and yelled out in dismay after the letdown. He's one of the team's best shooters and often makes 20+ of the 25 threes quickly while moving around the perimeter.

Haliburton didn't play on Saturday due to what head coach Rick Carlisle called a mild tweak to his right ankle. He got an MRI and the results were positive for the Pacers – Carlisle shared over the weekend that it would be possible for Haliburton to return to practice on Monday.

That ended up being reality. The star guard was not limited at all as the Pacers went through their seventh practice of training camp. His status for tomorrow's game in Oklahoma City is still to be determined, though, as the team travels to play the Thunder (Who are playing in Atlanta on Monday night. Preseason back-to-back?).

Carlisle and Haliburton haven't had any conversations about Haliburton's return to OKC. The star guard told Taylor Rooks last season that he wasn't ready to go back to the Paycom Center and just stare at the spot on the court where he suffered his injury. Rather, he wanted to get "lost" in playing.

Tomorrow, the Pacers will return to that arena for the second time since Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. While Haliburton's status for the preseason tilt is still to-be-determined, he could use the reps as he gets back into the swing of things. Mentally pushing through his return to Oklahoma City before the regular season, and expectations, come for the Pacers may be prudent. That's one less distraction and emotion to deal with when the Pacers head to OKC on February 5.

After Carlisle spoke to reporters, Haliburton did make better than 80% of his threes in the shooting drill, earning the right to ring the bell. He did so quietly, then yelled out to assistant coach Mo Baker. It seems as if Baker is in charge of counting up the number of times players ring the bell during the training camp – Obi Toppin also yelled out to him after he knocked down more than 20 of his threes.

Jarace Walker, one of the Pacers preseason standouts, also rang the bell. Other notes from the Pacers seventh practice of training camp below.

Circle City Spin

The Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, up close

Circle City SpinTony East

Ivica Zubac sends Kelly Oubre down the street

Among the many things discussed as Ivica Zubac tries to find his fit with the Pacers, screening has been the most common topic. He's huge and hits hard, which opens up lanes for his Pacers teammates.

Here's one example from Pacers vs Hawks:

The Pacers are asking their new center to set a bunch of picks. That's for an obvious reason: He's good at it. It creates space – Zubac discussed where he learned his screen setting skills last week.

Oubre, by nature of being on the second unit, has been forced to defend against those screens often in practice. I asked him about how he handles taking a screen from Zubac.

"It was good. I had to go around [the screen]," Oubre said. "So I went down the street, I made a left, and I made a U-turn and then came back to practice. That's how his screens are."

Speaking of Kelly Oubre

Oubre's personality has shined throughout training camp so far. His energy is a good match with the rest of the roster. He's also been a useful player, filling in as a starter and playing alongside Zubac on Saturday.

The newly-signed forward loved playing with the bruising big man for once. "I haven't played with somebody as forceful as him. Just run into him, you're gonna fall. He's not," Oubre said of Zubac. "So I think it's just amazing that he's so agile. He's so versatile as well."

Speaking of versatility, that word has often been a descriptor for Oubre in the last few weeks. He showed that on Saturday, moving into the opening lineup with Haliburton out. He filled in as the two guard and pushed Andrew Nembhard to the point.

Oubre is admittedly still learning, particularly on defense. But he's getting up to speed on the scheme and terminology, and he's been a strong fit offensively. So far, he hasn't had an issue with the team's pace, including when he started.

"I think I did pretty well. I was able to impact the game. I'm still learning, so there's some things that I can get better at," Oubre said of being in the first five. "I fit seamlessly in with the guys."

Added Carlisle: "He's an experienced player. He's started a lot of games in this league. He's played well in the first two games and he's a consistent practice guy. I love his edge, his vibe as a teammate, all those things."

Oubre is averaging nine points per game so far and shooting 66.7% both from the field and from deep. Defensively, he's been fine but – as he said – he's still figuring things out. Preseason is important for Oubre and other Pacers newcomers, and game three of four comes tomorrow night.

Thank you for reading. A story after Pacers-Thunder coming, plus a few in Forbes about the Pacers trip to Ames and Oubre himself. Sign up here and everything will go straight to your email inbox.