Pacers' Bennedict Mathurin Reveals Major Evolution Ahead of Playoff Debut

The Indiana Pacers enter this year’s playoffs as a higher seed than last year’s team that made the Eastern Conference finals. A scary thing for the rest of the league too is they will be adding a new and improved version of Bennedict Mathurin to the team for this year’s playoff run.

Mathurin is making his playoff debut this year after missing last year due to injury. He is primarily known as a scoring wing, but he has advanced his game to be a bit more well-rounded. He enters this year’s playoffs as a dangerous role player capable of impacting multiple areas of the game as well as going off for a big scoring night.

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"I think my game has grown a lot," Mathurin said during a media event for the playoffs. "Not specifically through stats, but just understanding the game, playing with a lot of great players on this team. Obviously, my role has changed a lot from the beginning of the season to the end of the season. I feel like being able to play different roles on the team allows me to be a better player."

Versatility is a skill that most great players have, and also a skill that modern championship teams have an abundance of on their roster. For the Pacers to recapture last season’s magical run, they will need Mathurin to step up his game.

Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam should take on most of the scoring and ball-handling load on offense, but if Mathurin can be a great third scorer and also play good defense on the perimeter, the Pacers can be a dangerous squad once again.

With the Bucks banged up and a bit lacking in depth and top-tier talent beyond Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, who may be out the whole series with an injury, the Pacers should overcome them in the four versus five first-round matchup.

However, beyond that, the Pacers will likely have to face both the Cleveland Cavaliers, the top seed in the East, and the Boston Celtics, the second seed and team that beat them last year in the playoffs.

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If the Pacers want any chance of taking down these powerhouse teams at the top of the East, they will need Mathurin to play like a star player and play a good all-around game, not just provide a scoring punch in the game.

Mathurin is still young and may be asked too much to help the Pacers improve on last year’s finish, but given he is making his playoff debut, it is entirely possible he steps his game up big time.

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