The Indiana Pacers are one of several teams fighting for a spot outside of the NBA Play-In Tournament in the Eastern Conference. Their quest to earn one of those spots has gotten a little more difficult with the absence of guard Bennedict Mathurin.
Mathurin injured his shoulder in the team’s win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday evening. According to head coach Rick Carlisle, the injury is going to keep him on the sidelines for at least a week.
“He’s a guy who bounces back very quickly and hates missing game,” Carlisle told reporters on Thursday. “We hope that it’s relatively short term, but he will miss a week at least.”
With that timeline, Mathurin will miss at least four games for the Pacers. The first one was on Thursday night, as they hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves. They lost the game 113-111, as Anthony Edwards put on his cape and turned into Superman to get his team a victory.
The next two games Mathurin will miss will come against the Orlando Magic and Oklahoma City Thunder on the road. The matchup against Orlando is a big one as the teams are separated by 2.5 games in the standings. The Magic are currently in fourth place while the Pacers are in eighth.
The fourth game Mathurin will miss will be against the Chicago Bulls, who have been playing some very good basketball as of late. That is the first game of a three-game homestand, and based on Carlisle’s update, he could return to the court at some point in that stretch.
Losing Mathurin is a big blow to the Pacers’ lineup. He has played well in Year 2 of his NBA career, averaging 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists as one of the better sixth men in the league. An extended absence would really hurt their chances of getting out of the NBA Play-In Tournament.
More must-reads: