As you may know, Bennedict Mathurin has officially ruled out for the season after it was announced he would undergo surgery for a torn labrum in his right shoulder. It’s a hard blow for the Pacers, who have suffered injury after injury and have rarely seen their team leave in full health since the arrival of Pascal Siakam.
This injury runs a little deeper for the Pacers, as Mathurin is by far the team’s third-best shot creator and top bench scorer. Additionally, his slower style of play seems well suited to the playoffs when defenses tighten up and the Pacers can’t play as fast as they do in the regular season. With Mathurin gone, Indiana will have to look for different ways to distribute the offensive load.
For this cast, some have suggested that Lance Stephenson make a return, as they always do when Indiana has an open roster spot. But that seems pointless. While Stephenson is a fan favorite, his inclusion in a playoff rotation may not be ideal, as he hasn’t contributed to winning NBA teams since 2018, when he was in his second passing through Indiana. Adding Stephenson would be good for a morale change in the locker room and a confidence boost, but not as a rotation player.
Instead, Indiana should look to two guys who have shown flashes of great promise this year, Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard. Since the start of the season, Walker’s lack of minutes has been a main topic of discussion for Pacers fans, and his constant assignments in the G-League have frustrated many people who believe that Rick Carlisle and the front office are not taking not its development seriously. As for Sheppard, his expectations were pretty low to begin with, as no one thought a late first-round pick would amount to much in his first season on a playoff-contending team.
In some ways, Walker and Sheppard began their careers exactly the opposite of what people expected. While fans expected Walker to get decent minutes out of the gate, he struggled with playing time but shows great flashes when he gets them, like his 15-point night in Sacramento. As for Sheppard, he has come into his own over the last few games, shooting lights out from deep and playing fantastic defense, leading many to label him as the replacement for Indiana’s Buddy Hield.
These are, in my opinion, these two who should be supported in the absence of Mathurin. While neither possesses Mathurin’s shot-creating abilities that have made him so instrumental in the Pacers’ offense, both are better defenders and bring more intangibles to State.
The main criticism of Mathurin at this point in his career is that if his shot isn’t falling, he’s not doing much else to justify being on the floor. This couldn’t be more different for Walker and Sheppard, as both are very solid defenders and bring much more to the table to compensate for their lack of offensive self-creation.
The addition of Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard can do wonders for the Pacers in the future, as they can add a new weapon to their team play, with a slowed down offensive system being able to be implemented at times. In the playoffs, the Pacers will be pushed to the limit and their offensive and defensive capabilities will be tested.
For that, it would be a very wise move to have a fantastic secondary defender and playmaker like Walker and a great defender and spot-up shooter like Sheppard to add more layers to Indiana’s overall game.
Following. Next story. The Indiana Pacers need Tyrese Haliburton to fix his shooting. dark
Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard need more minutes moving forward, and if this experiment goes well and they fully force their way into the rotation, the Pacers will be scary in the playoffs and even scarier when Mathurin returns for the 2024-25 season.
