Is Tyrese Haliburton a superstar, or a run-of-the mill star? We got some answers Thursday night in Pacers' Game 5 loss

Superstars, like Jokic and Antetokounmpo, bring it every night. Haliburton, a wonderful player, does not. Until he does, he's not among the truly elite.

As much as this pains me, I have to say it: Stephen A. Smith is right. Specifically, he’s right about Tyrese Haliburton. He’s a star, no doubt, a third-team All-NBA player, an Olympian, one of the rising young studs who will be a face of the league for years to come.

But a superstar?

I agree, it’s kind of a dumb TV argument. Like, how does one differentiate between a star and a superstar? Is it like the Supreme Court justice, Potter Stewart, who in 1964 said he couldn’t define pornography, but knew it when he saw it? That’s where I am on Haliburton. Superstars – like LeBron, like Steph Curry, like Nikola Jokic, like Giannis Antetokounmpo, like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – bring it every night. Some nights they’re not as consistently great, but rarely, if ever, do one of those guys put up just seven shots in an elimination game. Rarely, if ever, do they let the defense dictate what they want to do. Basically, he disappeared and did it one game after putting up a historically overwhelming stat line.

The issue, to the degree one exists, is this was completely predictable. You knew the Knicks would play with their hair on fire while facing elimination, and you knew Haliburton was going to have a quiet night. This has become a pattern that is undeniable.