What Pacers losing Bennedict Mathurin to shoulder surgery means for rest of season

INDIANAPOLIS -- Bennedict Mathurin's second year in the NBA had some highs and lows and he ultimately didn't score as much in Season 2 as he did as a rookie, but he made significant strides in learning how to play within the Pacers' system and maintained his positions as one of the team's top scorers and one of the franchise's most important assets.

But his second season is now over with 18 games remaining in the Pacers' regular season schedule as the 35-29 squad is making a push for the playoffs. Mathurin will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, the team posted on its social media accounts on Saturday afternoon. According to a press release from the team, the procedure will be performed by renowned surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles next week. He is expected to make a full recovery for the 2024-25 season.

Mathurin suffered the injury in the Pacers' game against the Mavericks on Tuesday, a game in which he scored 19 points on 7 of 16 shooting. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said before Indiana's game Thursday against the Timberwolves that Mathurin would be out at least a week but they were hopeful the injury would not be long term. They apparently got the news Saturday that the injury is worse than expected.

Mathurin, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 draft and the Pacers' first top-nine pick since George McCloud and 1989, was named first-team All-Rookie last season and finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting when he averaged 16.7 points per game and scored 1,302 total points, the third-highest figure for a rookie in Pacers history. He began this season in the starting lineup after spending most of last year as the Pacers' sixth man in hopes that he could be groomed to be Indiana's second scoring option behind All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton as well as a top wing defender.

That transition wasn't seamless and Mathurin was moved back to the bench in late November and has started only on occasion since, starting 19 of the 59 games he appeared in. However, as the season has progressed, he has improved his understanding of how and when to attack within the Pacers system without stalling the team's ball movement, and as a result he was having a much more efficient scoring season. His field goal percentage is up from .434 to .446, his 3-point field goal percentage is up from .323 to .374 and his effective field goal percentage is up from ..487 to .507. He's improved in his ability to create for others and moving the ball, averaging 2.0 assists per game after finishing with 1.5 last season.

His free throw attempts took a drastic downturn from 5.8 per game last season to 3.8 this season, a result of the fact that the Pacers have been less focused on putting the ball in his hand and letting him go to work on the second unit this year than they were last season. The Pacers lead the league in bench scoring, so whether Mathurin has been working with the first or second unit, he's been asked to move the ball more.

Still, there are few players on the Pacers' roster with more scoring capacity than Mathurin, as even on the bench he's fourth on the team in scoring behind All-Stars Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam and center Myles Turner. Though he's been more disciplined with his attacks, he's still one of the toughest players on the roster to contain off the dribble, he's one of the best finishers at the rim, he has a real mid-range game, and as previously noted, his outside shot has significantly improved. He's also made strides as a defender -- he has some moments when he's out of position, but he's very motivated to win one-on-one matchups with top players, and he's also an effective rebounder with 4.0 per game.

His absence will be a painful loss especially for the second unit. The group has remained productive even since the trade of sharpshooter Buddy Hield in February cost them one of the most productive scorers, but they've now lost two of their most productive wing scorers. They're still without veteran wing Doug McDermott, acquired from the Spurs as part of the deal that sent Hield to Philadelphia, who has been out with a strained right calf. McDermott did a little more work in practice on Saturday, but Pacers coach Rick Carlisle did not give a timetable for his return. He is still listed as out for the Pacers' game Sunday against the Magic in Orlando.

The Pacers will have to continue to rely on rookie guard Ben Sheppard, who has give them sturdy perimeter defense and outside shooting, but doesn't have Mathurin's overall capacity as a scorer. They will also likely have to give more minutes to rookie Jarace Walker, a lottery pick at No. 8 overall who has had more work with the G League's Mad Ants this season than with the Pacers. However Walker, drafted as a power forward, has shown enough positional versatility for the Pacers to trust him at small forward so he should get more work on the wing.

The Pacers' depth should still be a strength, but losing Hield and then Mathurin makes it significantly less of a strength than it was, which puts more onus on Haliburton and Siakam to carry them the rest of the way.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers' Bennedict Mathurin having season-ending shoulder surgery