“Honestly, I’m going to blame Steph” - Tyrese Haliburton shares one advice he took from Steph Curry that led him to shoot 0-8 from the field

Indiana Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton made headlines to start the season, but not in a positive way. In the Pacers' second game of the season against the New York Knicks, Haliburton shot 0-8 from the field, including 0-7 from the three-point line. The 24-year-old point guard revealed that this happened because of one advice his Olympic teammate Stephen Curry gave him.

"Honestly speaking, I'm probably going to blame Steph because he convinced me to try out pregame naps because I told him that I don't nap and he told me to try it out and after text him the game tell him the result. So he'll be getting a text from me shortly. No more pregame naps for Tyrese but we'll figure it out," Haliburton said after the Pacers' 123-98 loss.

Why Steph recommended it

Perhaps pregame naps aren't for everyone, especially Tyrese, but for Curry, they're what allows him to have a good night. The greatest shooter of all time has long been vocal about how integral sleep is to his daily routine, so it's not a shock that he advised Haliburton to do this. According to the four-time champion, pregame naps are non-negotiable.

"I religiously take a pregame nap. It's like a non-negotiable," Curry once said in an ESPN SportsCenter segment. "I'm a professional napper so I don't really need much. It doesn't even have to be a bed or couch or I can sleep on a bus. I snooze for about two hours, that's when I know I'm feeling good and ready to have a good night."

The Pacers might not want Haliburton to nap anymore

If there's one thing the Pacers learned from their loss to the Knicks, it's not that Haliburton should avoid napping but rather that they can't afford to have their point guard have a bad night often. It also didn't help the Pacers that Mikal Bridges was the one who took the assignment to guard Haliburton, who had to depend on Benedict Mathurin to carry the scoring load instead. Once the Pacers start getting ball-pressured, it's Halliburton's task to get past that.

If the Pacers want to take that next leap this season, they need to extend their offense outside Haliburton and make strides defensively. Yes, Halliburton is the team's offensive engine, but more needs to come from Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, Benedict Mathurin, and the rest of the team if they truly want to be considered the cream of the Eastern Conference crop.