Have you heard the media saying that Banchero is the clear rookie of the year? Don’t buy it. Mathurin should be up there with Banchero this year. This always happens with the Pacers because they are a small market team and thus, large media companies struggle to sell content that is centered around the Pacers.
Banchero is an easier sell sure, and may even be the better long-term player. But don’t buy the story that he is CLEARLY the better rookie in his class when both of them have had amazing years and Mathurin actually beats Banchero in a few categories.
Just take a look at the statistics:
Paolo Banchero‘s stats: 19.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 42% FG, 28% FG3 in 34 mpg
Bennedict Mathurin stats: 17.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 43% FG, 32% FG3 in 28 mpg
Banchero has a few more points, a few more rebounds, and a few more assists, you should also notice that Mathurin is much more efficient with his shooting. And so it becomes challenging to decipher how to seperate these two players in the rookie of the year conversation.
We give you three reasons why the media is wrong and why Bennedict should easily be in the conversation for rookie of the year.
Paolo plays in a fundamentally different role than Mathurin
For the Orlando Magic, Paolo plays a fundamentally different role than Mathurin does for the Pacers. Paolo always has the ball in his hands every time down the court. This is going to translate into things such as more point, assists, and shot attempts: because he literally always has the ball. There isn’t an incredible amount of talent on the Orlando roster and so much of the burden is constantly being shouldered by Banchero.
Compare this to Mathurin who has quite a few other talented players on the team that are more ball dominant than him such as Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield. This gives Mathurin the ability to be more opportunistic with his decisions, but also will mean that he will have less overall statistical padding given he has the ball less. Body type and play style make up some of the differences, but also opportunity that the players are given make a big difference as well.
But this isn’t the only thing that Banchero has going for him in comparison to Mathurin in Indiana.
One plays among starting level teammates while the other plays with the backups.
Another key difference between the two players is that Mathurin plays with the backup rotation while Banchero plays with the starters. At first this may seem like an advantage for Mathurin, but it could just as easily function as a net negative for him.
Mathurin will consistently be playing with backup level players who may be able to convert less assists for Mathurin as well as open up offensive spacing and creativity on offense for Mathurin to operate. Because of this we would expect Mathurin’s numbers to take a small step back.
But the impressive thing? His numbers continue to be comparable even though he is playing less minutes, having the ball less, with less talented players. All that to say, Mathurin is able to make much more happen with much less. Something that probably isn’t getting as much airtime as it should.
We wouldn’t fault a rookie point guard for having less blocks than a rookie center? Then we probably shouldn’t fault someone for making a few less points/assists just because his role requires he have a ball a few less times.
The final piece is that Mathurin has the best ability in the modern NBA.
What is the best ability in the modern NBA? It’s availability, and Mathurin has shown durability early in his career. Alternatively, Paolo has already shown some availability concerns early in his career with Mathurin not really having any injury concerns, while Paolo has already missed 12% of his games this season.
And while they may seem like a minor difference, we are in a league where a players durability to get through a season is important. Should Paolo be knocked significantly for missing some games? Of course not. Should it be part of the calculation? Absolutely. It already is, or else Embiid would have a few MVPs by this point, but he struggles to stay healthy which always pulls him out of the running.
To sum up:
I’m not saying Mathurin is certainly the rookie of the year and I’m not saying that Paolo isn’t. But I’m saying there are a few things to consider before buying the claim that the difference between the two is absolutely massive.
- Mathurin is putting up similar numbers to Paolo on more efficient shooting in fewer minutes. Mathurin shouldn’t be punished for a few fewer minutes just because of the talent that is around him on the team.
- Mathurin plays a different role on the team than Banchero. He has the ball less because he is playing an off-ball guard position while Banchero is being asked to bring the ball up the court and start the offense. Because of this, their impact is going to look different between the two.
- Mathurin plays with backup players while Banchero plays with the starters which means that the ability of the players around you have some impact on your numbers as well. For example, assists can only become assists if the other person makes the basket.
- Banchero has already shown that he might struggle with injuries moving forward while Mathurin has shown an ability to stay healthy. And while this shouldn’t be a huge factor in the minds of the voters, it should be important when it comes down to making decisions about winners in a tight contest.
So what do you think? Should Mathurin be considered to have a decent chance at the ROTY award?