Looking back on Bennedict Mathurin's rookie year, it almost feels like he skipped a step. With most rookies, we feast off of the flashes. Inconsistency is built into our expectations, so we forgive bad stretches. We extrapolate, imagining a more complete, future version of the player.

But with Mathurin none of that felt appropriate. From the very start of the season he looked too mature, too natural, to hold him to rookie standards. He was one of the league's best bench scorers immediately. He drew fouls like a ten-year vet, depriving us of cliches about rookies needing to earn their stripes.

To an extent, Benn is a victim of the fact that he very obviously belongs in the NBA. Not just as cog either, he belongs as scorer. He's also a victim of the fact that he isn't a positionless curio. He won't revolutionize the game like Steph or Jokic or possibly Wemby. His archetype is tried and true.

Something about that familiarity, the sheer obviousness of it all, made it feel appropriate to criticize him like a vet. It was easy to let out a Bronx cheer when he passed out of a drive or an exasperated sigh when he blew a defensive assignment – in other words, when he made rookie mistakes.

The fact that he didn't finish in the top three of Rookie of the Year voting speaks to this phenomenon. Look at his stats relative to other rookies:

He was the NBA's second-leading rookie scorer (16.7 PPG) and the league's second-leading scorer off the bench (16.9 PPG). He was the first rookie to score 1,000 points off the bench in 18 years! He produced consistently, all year. And yet he was overlooked by the media when it came time to dole out awards.

But that shouldn't come as too much of a surprise because Mathurin has always been held to a higher standard – by the fans, by the coaches, and most of all, by himself.

The Mindset

What makes Mathurin different is his internal drive, something that made an impression on the Pacers brass during his pre-draft workout. After a morning session that left Benn unsatisfied, he texted Carlisle asking if he could come back that night to put in more work. The coach and the prospect met at 8:00 pm and drilled footwork into the night. In Carlisle's words:

It told me a lot about him as a guy that really has a great intellectual curiosity for the game and a great love of the game. Guys that have a chance to really succeed and achieve in the league have a real fascination with self-discovery of getting better and he is one of those guys. I could tell that evening it was clear to me that this is our kind of guy.

While his determination made an impression on the Pacers, his self-confidence made an impression in the headlines. He set off a tweetstorm when he told the Washington Post, “A lot of people say [LeBron James] is great. I want to see how great he is. I don’t think anybody is better than me. He’s going to have to show me he’s better than me." Mathurin later clarified that his comments were not necessarily about James but about his own mindset. Whether that mindset fueled his play, or his play fueled his mindset, he came into the season red hot.  

What He Did Well

Benn can score the ball, full stop. He dropped 26 points the second game of the season, 27 points the third. Less than a week later he had his first 30+ point game in a surprising road victory against the Brooklyn Nets. The game encapsulated all of the promise of Benn Mathurin. It didn't really matter if he started or came off the bench. When he stepped foot on the floor he was going to muscle his way to the rim, hit free throws, and knock down threes.

His calling card is his remarkable strength and body control. Despite not having the best handle or the most explosive first step, defenses couldn't keep him from barreling to the rim and drawing a whistle. He was fouled on 20% of his shot attempts, putting him in the 99% percentile for wings –  as a rookie! That's more than DeRozan, Morant, or Shai. His preternatural knack for getting to the line is something shared by most of the top scorers and it allowed Benn to remain consistent even when his outside shooting touch evaporated (more on that later).

The other thing Mathurin did unexpectedly well is offensive rebound. The team grabbed about 5% more of their own misses when Benn was on the floor. That differential puts him in the 91st percentile relative to all other players, something rather incredible for a two-guard.  

Where He Needs To Get Better

There are obvious answers here: passing, defense, shooting. We'll get to all of those but I want to start somewhere unexpected and, frankly, contradictory.

He needs to get more comfortable. In his exit interview with the media he mentioned that he felt there was a boundary between himself and his teammates early in the year and that he wants to continue to develop chemistry over the summer.

Forgive the arm chair psychology, but Bennedict Mathurin comes off as a man who is straining with all his might to pull himself – and his family – up by the bootstraps. And when you look at his story this makes sense. The son of Haitian immigrants, he left home at a young age to play at the NBA Academy in Mexico City. He knows the opportunity he has to change his family's fortunes and he's driving incredibly hard to succeed. This shows up every where, from his buttoned up interviews, to his battering ram play style, to the anecdotes of him living in the gym.

But basketball isn't tennis or golf. It's a team sport. It's free flowing. At its best it's jazz. And the more comfortable Mathurin gets the more effectively he'll be able to employ the inherent force of his nature. The fact he recognizes comfort as an area of growth shows maturity and gives me hope that next year we'll see a looser, more dangerous Mathurin.

Perhaps that increased comfort and chemistry will also make him a better passer, a glaring weakness this year. Given his high usage rate, he put up pathetic assist numbers. In fact he ranked near the very bottom of the league, 3rd percentile for wings, in assist to usage ratio.

Or perhaps being more comfortable will make him a better shooter. Coming into the league shooting was supposed to be a calling card. To his credit he started the year hot but he lost confidence along the way and things spiralled. He finished the season with a disappointing 33.4% shooting percentage from three. Maybe more disappointingly, he stopped taking open threes when he had them. Or rather, he stopped taking them in rhythm, often pump faking and thinking about the shot for a beat too long before pulling the trigger. Over the summer he needs to get out of his own head and get back to just letting it fly.

Finally, he needs to become a better defender, something the coaching staff challenged him on all year. Mathurin came into the season focused on scoring and not much else but we saw him commit himself to playing hard nosed defense as the year went on. He credits Carlisle's strict coaching with the change. And make no mistake, it was strict – sometimes comically so. For example, in the meaningless final game of the season against the Knicks, Rick pulled Mathurin after he allowed Immanuel Quickley to drive by him.

But true to form Mathurin appreciated that type of accountability, seeing it as a sign that the coaching staff cares about him and using it as fuel to get better. He believes he developed into a good on-ball defender as a result but admits that he has a lot of room to grown off-ball. In his exit interview, he stated his plans to study Jrue Holiday tape with the hope of emulating the defensive stalwart next year.  

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Season

1) How much freedom is Mathurin given?

This year he was forced to pay his dues. Even when it was clear he was one of the best players on the team, they brought him off the bench and held him accountable for every mistake. How much bigger of a role will he get to start the year and how much leeway will he get to grow into that role?

2) Can he average over 20 ppg?

I have little doubt that Mathurin is going to work his tail off over the summer and return as a better player. But averaging 20+ requires consistency. Can he bring it night in, night out?

3) Does he change his play style at all?

He played a young man's game this year, looking for any and all contact. I don't expect him to attack less but at some point he's going to have to get smarter about taking hits.

Listen to his own opinions on his rookie season and check out some highlights below:

Tagged in:

Profile