Taken altogether, they are trying to instill a mentality of pursuing and taking pride in defending individual match-ups. They don't have the same early and aggressive presence at the nail as last season, the low-man isn't as overzealous in providing help, they generally funnel the ball middle instead of pushing the action to the sideline, and they are largely resistant to double-teaming, even to the point of staying the course with Haliburton getting bullied repeatedly by the Bulls or Giannis Antetokounmpo going off for 40+ points before making an adjustment, so as to keep themselves out of rotation. Everything else is geared around limiting three-point attempts. If the on-ball defender can't get back in front by the time the ball breaks the free throw line, then they are supposed to late-switch, veering into the legs of the roll-man with the big absorbing the ball. When defending 1-5 ball-screens, the aim is to guard the pick-and-roll two-versus-two.

Of course, most of what the Pacers are doing on defense is quite different this season. Mathurin stayed on for a few extra minutes and converted a couple of tough shots, but he eventually exited at the 5:53 mark and never returned. At that point, Rick Carlisle called for a timeout with 8:55 to go in the third quarter. There was a prolonged stretch in the first game against the Cavs in which he was guarding no one, only to be followed up by a possession in which he got back-cut twice by two different players.Ī few plays later, he got knocked off the scent chasing the sharpshooter around a pair of staggered pindowns for three, and after putting no pressure on the ball in transition, he gave Strus enough cushion to deliver an easy assist to Evan Mobley as a rim-runner. Overall, prior to the win over Milwaukee, Mathurin had averaged fewer fourth-quarter minutes as a starter (6.8), than he did last season as a rookie coming off the bench (8.8).Īnd, here's the thing, it hasn't been without reason. Likewise, the status quo remained the same against the Hornets, with the career-game for Haliburton and a 50-point third quarter ultimately being squandered in the wake of several miscues. Less than a week later, he watched from the sidelines yet again in another win over Cleveland, as he was replaced by Hield, with Haliburton making a big late-game shot and Turner collecting a huge, potentially game-saving block. That wasn't the case in the first match-up with Cleveland, when after getting cooked by Caris LeVert and losing track of Max Strus, he didn't play for the entire fourth quarter, as the current starters were largely replaced by last season's starters, only with Bruce Brown in place of Buddy Hield. First of all, take note that he was actually on the floor during the final seven minutes of the game. He was both singular and complementary, without overthinking what move to make or where to move the ball, and none of that matters or stands out near as much as what happened at the other end of the floor, particularly over the final seven minutes of the game. He cut behind the exaggerated help that was being shown to Tyrese Haliburton at the nail, and he calmly knocked down two free throws during crunch-time that gave the Pacers a three-point edge with under 10 seconds to play. He recycled his own miss, despite the presence of multiple bodies in the paint.

He was the author of his own usage, crashing from the wing for rebounds as if he had been embodied by the spirit of prime Lance Stephenson. He cleanly stepped into a jump-shot in transition, just as he was also buttery, snaking in front of the screener for a pull-up two. At other times, he was quick and responsive, stopping on a dime and snatching back for a step-back three or putting together a dribble combination move just slick enough to grease his path to the front of the rim. At times, he was slow and methodical, starting with the ball at his right hip and sweeping it low in front of his defender to clear up enough space to operate out of the corner from a standstill. Alright, on to the words about the Pacers.)īy: Caitlin Cooper I Mathurin scored 26 points against the Milwaukee Bucks. If you're new here and want to support independent writing about actual basketball, please consider subscribing and/or sharing it around. This article, as an in-depth breakdown of the big step Bennedict Mathurin took stepping into and revealing his power as a two-way player, is available as a free trial for everyone. (My work at Basketball, She Wrote is typically paywalled.

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