Pacers Upgrade Surprise Starter Ahead of Pistons Game Monday

Dec 31, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (00) celebrates a made shot with guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) in the second half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers have announced a surprise update on a long-hurt starting guard ahead of their upcoming showdown with Central Division nemeses the Detroit Pistons on Monday.

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According to the Pacers' latest injury report, shooting guard Bennedict Mathurin, who has been on the shelf for weeks with a right great big toe sprain, has seen his status get upgraded to questionable.

Injury Report for tomorrow’s game in Detroit:

Bennedict Mathurin - Questionable (right great toe sprain)
Aaron Nesmith - Out (left knee sprain)
Johnny Furphy - Out (left ankle sprain)
Quenton Jackson - Out (right hamstring strain)
Kam Jones - Out (lower back stress reaction)
Obi… pic.twitter.com/U6Kq7hpGJr

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) November 16, 2025

This being the year from hell for Indiana, the Pacers will still be missing six other players. Swingman Aaron Nesmith suffered a left knee sprain earlier this week and remains out for a few days. Two-time All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton, of course, has already been ruled out for the entire 2025-26 season as he recuperates from his right Achilles tendon rupture. Backup power forward Obi Toppin is unavailable until at least February with a right foot stress fracture.

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Bench Pacers shooting guard Johnny Furphy is out with a left ankle sprain. Two-way shooting guard Quenton Jackson continues to rehab his right hamstring strain. Rookie combo guard Kam Jones, the No. 38 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft out of Marquette, is still on the mend from a lower back stress reaction.

Mathurin, 23, failed to come to terms with Indiana on a rookie-scale contract extension ahead of the 2025-26 season. He will now need to prove his mettle this year, en route to restricted free agency in the summer.

Mathurin's Pros and Cons for Indiana

Selected with the No. 6 pick out of Arizona in the 2022 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-6 swingman is a slightly inconsistent defender and can occasionally have blinders on offensively. But he's fairly athletic and has an appetizing physical profile.

In his two healthy games for the 1-12 Pacers this year, Mathurin had been averaging 31.0 points on .548/.500/.885 shooting splits, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists a night.

It's unfair to expect Mathurin to maintain that kind of production over the course of a full NBA season, but he's no doubt angling to improve on his averages of 16.1 points (on a .458/.340/.831 slash line), 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.7 steals in 72 healthy games with the 50-win Pacers last year. He had been moved to the team's starting shooting guard role with the club before going down, after head coach Rick Carlisle shifted Andrew Nembhard to the point to replace Haliburton.

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