Bennedict Mathurin is practically guaranteed to average at least 20 points per game next season, and that should excite Indiana Pacers fans.
The Canadian native has been a fantastic scorer throughout his young NBA career, but he has mostly been restricted due to the roles he has been given. That should all change next season, however.
With Tyrese Haliburton out for the year, Mathurin is set to take on the largest role of his Pacers career up to this point. As it stands, he is slated to be Indiana's starting shooting guard alongside Andrew Nembahrd, who will slide over to point. As he prepares to take on an expanded role, there are reasons to believe that Mathurin should not only be able to cross the 20 PPG threshold, but it might not even be close.
In a recent episode of the Game Theory Podcast, Sam Vecenie spoke about what he expects to see out of Mathurin next season. Above all else, Vecenie believes the Pacers wing should see a major jump in his scoring, and he will "put up buckets."
"Benn Mathurin last year, on a team that made the Finals, averaged 16, 5, and 2, shooting 46, 34, [and] 83%. Tyrese Haliburton is gonna miss, if not this entire season, 90% of this entire season, and Benn Mathurin is starting...Benn Mathurin is gonna score. He is going to put up buckets. He's going to get numbers," Vecenie said.
Bennedict Mathurin should be in line for a career year
Despite being one win away from an NBA Championship back in June, Pacers fans do not have a lot to be happy about ahead of next season.
Most notably, Haliburton suffered a brutal Achilles injury during Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder and will miss all of next season. As if that wasn't bad enough, Indiana also lost Myles Turner after 10 years following his decision to join the Milwaukee Bucks as a free agent.
Though things do not look great for Indiana at the moment, not all is bad, and there are plenty of things for the fans to look forward to. Perhaps most notably, fans should expect to see a major leap from Mathurin, who should be able to make his stance with the Pacers crystal clear next season.
There is a lot to like about Mathurin. He is young, gifted, and he has a ton of potential. The Arizona alum is a fantastic scorer and has greatly developed as an all-around team player. However, despite this, his future in Indiana is still up in the air, and how he performs next season may determine what his immediate future in the league looks like.
While Mathurin is a great player and should be able to blossom into something even better, there are valid concerns about his long-term fit with the Pacers.
Mathurin is a fantastic scorer, but he relies much more on iso scoring and putting the ball on the floor more than anything else. Given that the Pacers like to run a fast-paced offense that relies heavily on ball movement and improvisation, this makes Mathurin a questionable fit in their system.
Additionally, Mathurin is eligible for a rookie-scale contract extension this offseason, but as it stands, he is not going to get it. Instead, the Pacers are going to let him play out next season and prove his worth.
Regardless of what his current situation is, there are reasons to believe the 23-year-old should be in line for the best year of his career so far. He is going to take on the biggest role he has up to this point, and knowing that he has a lot to play for should be enough for him to showcase exactly how much value he can bring to the Pacers as they look to re-establish themselves as title contenders.
Mathurin has the potential to be something special in the NBA. Whether he will be able to become that in Indiana or elsewhere remains to be seen. Either way, Mathurin will have a lot of eyes on him next season, but he should still be able to prove his worth and force the Pacers to keep him around for the long haul.