Bennedict Mathurin Will Fly Under the Radar This Season With Indiana

The Indiana Pacers had a deep run in the NBA Playoffs this last go-around, as their high-octane offense led the charge, and their depth was crucial as well.

Indiana would ultimately be swept by the Boston Celtics , but those contests were close, and by and large, the Pacers can take plenty of positives from that experience. Indiana can make noise again this coming season as well, and with the likes of Tyrese Haliburton leading the way, and Pascal Siakam around for coming years, Indiana is going to be a factor in the Eastern Conference.

That said, something that may be flying a bit under the radar from a Pacers standpoint is that Bennedict Mathurin is set to be back, too.

Mathurin’s season was cut short because of shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, which was a sizable blow, particularly with what he meant to Indiana’s bench. Mathurin should be ready to roll for the 2024-25 campaign, though, and after a fine second year, he should continue to round out his game more, and give Indiana plenty of juice.

Mathurin May Be A Bit Overlooked

Mathurin will be another weapon for Indiana

It wasn’t on display in the playoffs with him injured, but Mathurin was one of Indiana’s top contributors off the bench. He had 14.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest last season, and his rim pressure, paint presence and perimeter shooting growth were all exhibited in his second year.

Though the Pacers are a deep group and have their share of weapons, including Haliburton and the recently-extended Siakam, among others, Mathurin is one of their top drivers and on-ball threats. Mathurin averaged 7.0 drives per game last year, and posted 6.1 paint points per contest.

Mathurin is an important source of paint pressure for Indiana off the bench, where he can regularly leverage his quickness and strength to get to the interior. With his athleticism, contact balance and sudden burst, he’s tough for opponents to consistently contain on drives, and with Indiana’s spacing, that enables him to take advantage in gaps.

When Mathurin gets the ball dished to him in space, he’s difficult to stay in front of on the wing, and last season, he seemed to mix in more change-of-pace. That paired well with the other parts of his driving skill set, and he mixed in runners and floaters to go with his drives to the rim.

Ultimately, if Mathurin can continually establish himself as a player who’s on-point from beyond the arc, that’d make him even more dangerous as a finisher at other levels.

Now, make no mistake, last season was promising in that aspect, as Mathurin hit a respectable 36.4 percent of his pull-up three-point tries in 2023-24, per NBA.com’s shot tracking data. And paired with that, as the 22-year-old gets more experience playing off of Haliburton, Siakam and/or others, there’s reason to believe Mathurin can become more comfortable as an off-ball shooting threat.

Now, he’ll have to keep making progress in other areas to be a more well-rounded player, it seems.

In terms of the passing element, while Mathurin is a player that’s going to be much more so score-first, he was a more active secondary playmaking presence for Indiana in his second year.

He was a meaningful ball-handler for the Pacers in his time off the bench, and despite his assist splits of 2.0 per game not necessarily giving a glowing endorsement, he did show more willingness as a passer on drives, which is something he can build on. And in his third year, perhaps he can exhibit more growth as a pick-and-roll passer, as a counter to him taking advantage on-ball in switchouts.

Mathurin still has to take further strides with his defense, and he could still get better as a secondary playmaker for others at times, but he did show some improvement in those areas last season.

By and large, though, even with Indiana’s other weapons (also including Myles Turner as a reliable stretch big and lob threat), one shouldn’t discount Mathurin’s presence offensively. He’ll have to take another step forward this coming season. However, based on what he’s shown thus far, it’s clear he can consistently be an impactful player for Indiana off the bench.

Even with that being the case, with the others involved, and with him not being available during the last playoffs due to injury, it seems Mathurin may be a bit overlooked ahead of his third year with the Pacers.

Related

3 Most Likely Trade Candidates on the Indiana Pacers

Indiana is fresh off a hugely successful season, making it to the Eastern Conference Finals. They are now trying to make it to the next level.