What can be learned from the best and worst duos featuring Bennedict Mathurin by net rating
As Bennedict Mathurin navigated his rookie season and figured out how to be impactful, the Indiana Pacers were evaluating the best ways to maximize his strengths.
For much of the season, Mathurin came off the bench. He closed games on occasion, but not always. As a sixth man, he spent plenty of time with both the starters and the second unit. Indiana discovered a lot about the rookie, his skills, and where he fits best. He was named to the All-Rookie first team earlier this month.
Part of evaluating Mathurin was also evaluating who he fit well with and why. Exploring those pairings, what makes them successful, and how often they can be used is a useful exercise in setting Mathurin up for success in his second season.
Looking at the numbers it's clear that the 20-year old guard does well when surrounded by outside shooting. The Pacers best net rating combination featuring Mathurin, per the NBA's stats, was alongside sharpshooter Buddy Hield. From a macro view, that makes sense. Putting spacing, and shooting, around a player with Mathurin's driving ability would seem to be a good fit. Indiana had a +1.0 net rating with both guards on the court.
Hield and Mathurin both struggle with team defense, so that pairing being the best duo featuring Mathurin is somewhat surprising. But the team actually defended moderately well with both players on the court, conceding just 112.2 points per 100 possessions. Their offense wasn't particularly effective in those instances, but the team got enough buckets to outscore opponents.
Good outside shooting remains true near the top of Mathurin's best partners list. Tyrese Haliburton was his next-best teammate in terms of two-man lineup data, and he also drains threes at a high level. There is more to it than that though.
Haliburton is exceedingly talented, and he elevates any lineup he is a part of. Mathurin benefited from the All-Star guards shot creation this past season, and those two players are the future of the Pacers. The franchise will be happy that they did well in their minutes this past season.
On offense, the blue and gold reached an offensive rating of nearly 116. Their defense was mediocre, as the team allowed 115.5 points per 100 possessions with both players in the game. Over the course of a full season, the would be the sixth-best offense and 23rd-ranked defense in the NBA.
Indiana only had a net rating better than -5 when Mathurin shared the court with four players — Hield, Haliburton, Myles Turner, and Oshae Brissett. Turner just had one of the best shooting seasons of his career at 37.3%, and Brissett has been an excellent glue guy for years despite a down year from beyond the arc. It's clear that shooting, and overall offensive prowess, are important next to Mathurin.
At the bottom of Mathurin's net rating partners are Jordan Nwora, Aaron Nesmith, and Andrew Nembard. To some degree, that aligns with the eye test. Mathurin typically overlapped with those players during some of the Pacers' worst defensive moments.
With all three players individually paired with Mathurin, Indiana had a defensive rating of at least 117. And their offense sputtered, too. Those failures go hand in hand — every failed stop leads to a transition opportunity for the other team, and it's easier to score in the open floor.
Offensively, Nwora is a solid shooter, but he did not pair well with Mathurin. And his perimeter defense is lackluster, the Pacers couldn't stop anybody with both players on the court.
Nesmith and Nembhard are both better on the defensive end, but they aren't the level of shooter that could properly space the floor. Indiana had an offensive rating below 110 with Mathurin on the court alongside at least one of those two players.
It goes beyond just shooting and defense, but for a player like Mathurin that is a talented rim attacker and solid on-ball defender, shot making and team defense seem to be the most important skills around him. Especially in groups where he has the ball more often, like when he is paired with Nembhard (-7.5 net rating) or T.J. McConnell (-5.1).
Improvement from Mathurin himself will add to the number of players he fits well with, too. If his passing grows, he could be a tough-to-defend creator, and every young player could improve their defense.
But it's clear that Mathurin pairs well with lineups that defend well. The offensive rating of his most and least successful duos weren't that far off, but the defensive ratings were. Given that the Pacers play an up-tempo style and count on Mathurin to score, getting stops is the most important part of improving the team's effectiveness when he is on the court.
Overall, Mathurin pairs well with the Pacers best players and shooters. Until his jump shot develops more, Indiana should look to have one of their more accurate long-range assassins on the court while also hoping for more defensive growth both from Mathurin and from the whole team. If both things happen, it will be rare to find a lineup that Mathurin doesn't elevate to some extent in year two of his career.
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