Just before the All-Star break, Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle made a change to the lineup that piqued the interest of fans. In a slightly bold move, Carlisle opted to move Bennedict Mathurin back to the bench in favor of Aaron Nesmith. Though Nesmith is the traditional starting small forward, Mathurin started in his place after he missed over two months early in the season because of an ankle injury.
Even after Nesmith's return, Carlisle decided to keep Mathurin in the starting lineup for a few games. However, despite Nesmith's struggles on offense since returning, he is now back in the starting lineup once again.
It is a small sample size, but Carlisle's decision seems to have worked out for everybody involved so far. If the trend continues, the Pacers may be beginning to hit a new peak this season at a great time.
Benching Bennedict Mathurin for Aaron Nesmith is paying dividends
At the time of making the decision to move Mathurin back to the bench, Carlisle made it clear that this was not a demotion. Instead, this was a great opportunity for the Canadian native to unlock his full potential.
Furthermore, Carlisle spoke about the decision creating "a better balance on" the team.
“It creates a better balance on our team,” Carlisle said. “Benn’s a scorer, and Benn needs to get shots, and we have (Tyrese Haliburton) and Pascal (Siakam) out there to start games. This just makes it work better from an offensive standpoint.”
So far, this has looked to be the case for the Pacers.
Nesmith has started each of the last three games for Indiana. While he is not putting up crazy stats, his efficiency has gotten better, and he provides a lot of value on the defensive side of the ball. In his last two games, he is averaging 10.5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block while shooting 50% from the field and 62.5% from beyond the arc. Furthermore, it is important to remember that this is the exact starting lineup that brought the Pacers to the conference finals not even a year ago, so fans know exactly what they are capable of under the bright lights.
As for Mathurin, despite moving to the bench, his role has not been reduced. It is the opposite, in fact. In his last three games, the Arizona alum is averaging 20.7 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists on 55.3% shooting from the field and 41.7% from the three-point line. Furthermore, he is averaging 29.5 minutes per game during this stretch (Nesmith is averaging just 19.5 minutes for context).
Additionally, Mathurin was the Pacers' leading scorer off the bench in two of those three games. The only exception was Obi Toppin's 31-point performance against the Washington Wizards. However, even then, Mathurin recorded 28 points.
What stands out the most about Mathurin, however, is his overall development as a team player. He is a better passer and defender than he was even just at the beginning of the season, which he has recently acknowledged.
"I would say just my natural instincts," Mathurin said. "Obviously, I'm a scorer, so the first thing I'm trying to do is score the ball. But I feel like I've been better at playmaking and involving my teammates."
Still, at this point, as Mathurin says, scoring is his bread and butter, and it is clear that he provides a lot of value to a unit that is already arguably the best in the league.
There is a fair conversation about who is better and truly deserves the starting role between Mathurin and Nesmith. However, it is clear that Carlisle's decision is looking good so far, and it would not make sense to fix what is not broken.