Third-year wing Bennedict Mathurin has been a rising stud for the Indiana Pacers. Last season he averaged 14.5 points in 26.1 minutes a game, mostly in a reserve role, and this season, he has looked to help them build on the success they had last spring when they went to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Last March, he suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder that prematurely ended his year, and he was understandably anxious to get back on the court this fall. After Aaron Nesmith sprained his ankle, Mathurin moved into the starting lineup, and he had a stellar November in which he put up 19.4 points a game and hit 43.8 percent from 3-point range.
When Nesmith returned last week, it was back to the bench for Mathurin. Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle explained why he made that decision and why he believes it will be good for the team.
“It doesn’t matter who starts,” Carlisle said Tuesday after the Pacers’ first practice after the All-Star break. “What matters is we’re doing what’s best for the team. We have great guys. We communicate very carefully with them about these decisions. … I don’t like a lot of upheaval. I don’t like lineup changes, all that kinda stuff. But when something like this comes along and there’s so much evidence that it’s the right thing for so many reasons analytically and probably with the eye test too, you’ve gotta take note.”
Indiana started off the post-All-Star break portion of its schedule on Thursday by running past the Memphis Grizzlies, one of the best teams in the Western Conference, by a final score of 127-113. Mathurin played 24 minutes off the bench and went 6-of-9 from the field to score 16 points.
He may not love being a reserve, but such a role should give Indiana the type of bench depth it needs to finish the season strong and perhaps pull off another upset come playoff time.
