What actual function does Haliburton passing like this provide?

[DusterBuster]

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Seriously, why does he spin around after his passes like this? What benefit is this providing outside of just making a normal pass in these situations? Spin passes only really make sense in significant traffic or being defended by multiple players and needing to pass in a tight spot. Looks like Halib just makes a simple pass to an open man, then spins after for nothing more than “style” (using that term loosely).

[AbeVigodaLive]

You said it yourself... STYLE.

Not everyone likes the same style, as seems to be the case here.

[DOT]

I too hate it when people have fun.

[swyftdahoe]

just like his fashion. supposed to look good; doesn't.

[Myth]

It’s the same as when Curry turns to the crowd after a corner 3 is launched. It is just for fun when he is confident in the results.

[UcanUwill]

I too hate it when people have fun.

Even as a kid, I always identified myself with Mr Wilson from Dennis the Menace. Screw Dennis, what a terrible neighour, same with Spongebob.

[Dthrill55]

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Seriously, why does he spin around after his passes like this? What benefit is this providing outside of just making a normal pass in these situations? Spin passes only really make sense in significant traffic or being defended by multiple players and needing to pass in a tight spot. Looks like Halib just makes a simple pass to an open man, then spins after for nothing more than “style” (using that term loosely).

He's having fun playing a game. Don think its any deeper than that.

[sp6r=underrated]

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Seriously, why does he spin around after his passes like this? What benefit is this providing outside of just making a normal pass in these situations? Spin passes only really make sense in significant traffic or being defended by multiple players and needing to pass in a tight spot. Looks like Halib just makes a simple pass to an open man, then spins after for nothing more than “style” (using that term loosely).

On a minor level lots of these passes do cause minor confusion for the defense but the larger point is more important. Sports are entertainment and athletes are entertainers. Fans have made clear that stoic players without much flash ala Duncan or Stockton bore them to tears while by contrast this entertains them.

[CIN-C-STAR]

It’s just showmanship.
He’s a WWE fan and all about the theatrics.
He’s definitely the current king of fake no-look passes, but people have been throwing those fake no looks for decades. He just took it to a new level by pirouetting after for no particular reason.

[phanman]

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Seriously, why does he spin around after his passes like this? What benefit is this providing outside of just making a normal pass in these situations? Spin passes only really make sense in significant traffic or being defended by multiple players and needing to pass in a tight spot. Looks like Halib just makes a simple pass to an open man, then spins after for nothing more than “style” (using that term loosely).

On a minor level lots of these passes do cause minor confusion for the defense but the larger point is more important. Sports are entertainment and athletes are entertainers. Fans have made clear that stoic players without much flash ala Duncan or Stockton bore them to tears while by contrast this entertains them.

You can clearly see in a few of these clips that the spin after causes confusion for a split second for defenders. It also helps sell the no-look.

[UglyBugBall]

Question: What actual function does Haliburton passing like this provide?

Answer: It looks good.

Source: eyes.

[CptCrunch]

1 of 3 or 4 times, the defender is confused for a fraction of a second. This is clearly a positive unless this messes up his pass quality.

[jowglenn]

Part of it is that he is moving his body in that direction anyway, so why not stay on that flow and let momentum carry through into a full spin?

[threethehardway]

Most of Haliburton's flash is fake and useless. It's not like Jokic or Larry Bird or Magic Johnson where they utilized creative angles and make risky high leverage passes.

Tyrese's passing is low risk, efficient and routine. He does what I call, Lonzo passing, where he is throwing the ball ahead and letting his guys stay moving and running.

All the flash is just him making himself entertaining for an otherwise, boring, low risk style of point guard play.

Play like John Stockton, look like Magic Johnson.

[kingr]

Why do players go for highlight dunks instead of regular dunks?

[Shock Defeat]

Why do players go for highlight dunks instead of regular dunks?

Why do players dunk at all when they can just lay it in on a fast break?

[ibraheim718]

At the end of the day he's an entertainer.

[Deathray]

It's like when a child hides behind something really small so they're not really hidden. He makes a look pass then tries to act like it's a no look pass.

Not quite Jason Williams level flash.

[Doctor MJ]

You said it yourself... STYLE.

Not everyone likes the same style, as seems to be the case here.

Agree about this being a style thing.

My take? I'm all for it as long the player's analytics don't show poor efficiency, so given that Hali is known for high assists and low turnovers, I approve. Style without substance is fool's gold, substance without style is professional but unlikely to captivate fans, substance with style is the gold standard.

[Doctor MJ]

Most of Haliburton's flash is fake and useless. It's not like Jokic or Larry Bird or Magic Johnson where they utilized creative angles and make risky high leverage passes.

Tyrese's passing is low risk, efficient and routine. He does what I call, Lonzo passing, where he is throwing the ball ahead and letting his guys stay moving and running.

All the flash is just him making himself entertaining for an otherwise, boring, low risk style of point guard play.

Play like John Stockton, look like Magic Johnson.

I would disagree.

Hali clearly is probably more known for jump passes than anyone since Nash, and when you do that you're making use of a) creative angles and b) super-fast mental processing of the court.

Re: low risk, throwing the ball ahead. I would call that a contradiction in terms. The reason why teams were so averse to really taking advantage of the fast break in Stockton's era is because it takes a great amount of skill to run transition without high turnovers, and so most of Stockton's focus was in getting the ball into the front court, and then giving the ball to Malone so Malone could make something happen.