Bennedict Mathurin not expected to play against Detroit Pistons with ankle sprain

Mathurin injured his ankle against the Rockets on Thursday

Indiana Pacers rookie guard Bennedict Mathruin is not expected to play in the Pacers next two games against the Detroit Pistons.

The 20-year old guard hurt his right ankle on Thursday night in Indiana's game vs the Houston Rockets. Late in the first quarter, Mathurin was driving to the cup and came down awkwardly between two defenders. His ankle rolled and he immediately fell to the floor in pain.

"Benn's got a right ankle sprain. Not sure exactly how severe yet but we'll know more in the next day or so," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said on Thursday night.

Mathurin was down for over a minute, and his teammates surrounded him on the court. He was ultimately carried off the hardwood by his teammates and went back to the locker room. Buddy Hield replaced him in the action.

The Pacers initially said that Mathurin was questionable to return with a right ankle sprain, but by halftime, they had ruled him out for the rest of the night. He only played for three minutes.

The 2022 sixth overall pick has not missed a game for Indiana yet this season, and he had hopes of playing in all 82 games. "I'm blessed from beyond to be healthy," he said a few weeks ago.

It looks like that's not going to happen now, though. Carlisle shared Thursday night that he thinks Mathurin is going to miss his first games of the season over the weekend.

"It's going to look different out there without Benn in this game. And I certainly don't believe he'll play either of the Detroit games," the head coach said. The Pacers play the Pistons on Saturday and Monday.

Mathurin takes over 12 shots per game and averages nearly 17 points. That's a lot of production for the blue and gold to make up. Aaron Nesmith, Chris Duarte, and Jordan Nwora will likely be asked to do a bit more, and if the team needs more guard depth, veteran George Hill could be in line for some playing time.

Mathurin could miss time beyond the two Detroit games, but his injury length won't be known until more testing and analysis is done. Duarte missed over six weeks with an ankle sprain earlier this season, but some ankle sprains have much shorter absences. It all depends on the severity.

"Scary moment, don't want to see your teammates go down like that," All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton said. "I'm not part of the medical staff, so I was just trying to think what I could do to help... praying that everything is good with him and that he's healthy for us."

Haliburton referenced the "next man up" mentality that will be key for the Pacers going forward. They will need others to raise their level of play with Mathurin out if they want to keep winning, and that need will start on Saturday night in Detroit.

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