Pacers News: Rick Carlisle Explains Decision to Demote Elite Guard

The Indiana head coach reveals why he's opted to shift around his rotation.

Oct 23, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on the sideline in the first half against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Indiana Pacers head Rick Carlisle has been shifting around his bench rotation a few times already amidst the team's disappointing 1-3 start to the 2024-25 season.

Backup swingman Bennedict Mathurin has seen his minutes drastically limited following a disappointing season debut against the Philadelphia 76ers.

During an interview on "The Wake Up Call with KB & Andy" via Indiana's 107.5 FM "The Fan," Carlisle explained his thinking behind essentially demoting Mathurin (h/t to Alex Golden of the "Setting The Pace" podcast for the transcription).

“He struggled in the Philly game with rebounding and defense. We had a film session yesterday morning and it was longer than I wanted it to be, in regards to the Philly game. A lot of it was about rebounding and avoidable turnovers. He had struggles in that game," Carlisle said.

The 22-year-old is averaging 21.5 minutes a night this season, averaging career lows of 12.3 points on .571/.385/.706 shooting splits, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.3 steals a night.

"Last night [in a road loss to the ascendant Orlando Magic], was a little different kind of game," Carlisle said. "He played 14 minutes and [Ben] Sheppard ended up getting more of the minutes than Mathurin and [forward Jarace] Walker. It’s just kind of part of this whole thing. Mathurin is obviously a very important guy, and he scored the ball well in the first two games but this not only about scoring.”

The 6-foot-5 swingman was selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, following a consensus All-American Second Team season with the Arizona Wildcats.

Indiana posted an appetizing 47-35 record last year, good for the Eastern Conference's sixth seed, but managed to surprise everybody (and capitalize on some key injuries to opposing players) by marching all the way to the East Finals — where the team was briskly swept by the eventual champion Boston Celtics. Mathurin was a bigger component of that season's club than he is thus far this year, but clearly things are fluid as Carlisle seeks out his strongest lineups and rotations.

There's a bit of a logjam at the guard position for Indiana this year, but everything revolves around All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who hasn't looked right since injuring his hamstring during the playoffs. He barely played in the 2024 Paris Olympics for Team USA, and is now averaging a sub-All-Star line of 14.0 points on .339/.265/.636 shooting splits, 5.3 assists, and 4.8 rebounds a night.

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