The first is a 22-year-old American point guard, in his third year, landed in a trade during last season from Sacramento. The second is a Canadian back, a 20-year-old rookie, the 6th choice of the last Draft when he left Arizona. In Indiana, Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin make the pair.
Respectively at 21.6 points, 9.9 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 20.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, they are the new spearheads of the Pacers – who start from afar…
But currently at 5 wins for 6 losses, the Indiana franchise is defending itself pretty well. That said, there is no revolution in terms of ambitions either. The Pacers are resolutely in reconstruction.
At least now they have a very good foundation on the back line. Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin are potential starters with their entire careers ahead of them.
“We play well with each other”, says Tyrese Haliburton in The Ringer. “His game complements mine well in the sense that I like to play a lot of wide pick & roll where I can attack the defense having picked up speed to go and take a floater or facilitate the game. When the opposing teams follow inside or come help on me, I can give him the ball on the weak side. He has such a penetrating force towards the circle that he is very difficult to hold in second blade. It’s an association that works naturally between us. »
“He sees me all the time actually”
Battery side. Second best scorer among the rookies behind Paolo Banchero, Bennedict Mathurin is the ideal back alongside Tyrese Haliburton, with his profile as a finisher on the outside as well as on the cups.
Side face. Second best passer in the League (and just behind James Harden), Tyrese Haliburton is the prototype of the organizing leader, with a sense of spectacle that does not spoil anything. In short, Bennedict Mathurin knows that he will be served on time. Even more.
“Sometimes when I don’t think he sees me, he sees me. He actually sees me all the time. Several times I was running and there was a pass that came into my hands at the last moment. I didn’t think he was going to pass it to me, but he has an excellent vision of the game, and the IQ to match. He has a great sense of the game and he is really altruistic. He wants to win. »
Not to mention that the leader, sometimes mocked for his unacademic gesture in shooting, is in fact very close to turning the famous “50/40/90” at the start of the season (51% in shooting, 45% at 3-points and 88% in free throws). For the third consecutive season above 40% at 3-pointers, he is not just a “slasher”. He can also punish from afar. And now he has Bennedcit Mathurin at his side to crush and torture opposing defenses.
“He’s a great point guard who can go to the circle more or less whenever he wants. When the defense is tough on him, I just try to make his job easier. I put myself on the wing on his side and I take advantage of his passes. »
“We play like that, naturally”
A dozen games will therefore have been enough for the young tandem of the Pacers to find their cruising speed. After a sluggish start, marked by four defeats in five games, Indiana has raised the bar by going on four wins in five games.
At the heart of this revival of form, Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin were able to speak about their nascent alchemy, a cordial agreement which quickly became friendly, and even more interesting for the Pacers, which was created naturally. Two basketball players who simply speak the same language.
“We have a very good rhythm together. We probably played a handful of minutes together in training camp and I don’t think we’ve ever shared the court in preseason except for two minutes. We just wanted to play with each other, and it works well. I was like him when I was a rookie, in a role where I didn’t play with the ball as much as I could in college. So, I see him when he has moments when he makes me understand that he would like to feel the leather. We move the ball so that he has opportunities to play too. And we play like that, naturally. »
With a workforce that could quickly explode (Buddy Hield and / or Myles Turner), the Pacers can at least be satisfied, better rub their hands, to have ensured their backs with these two young nuggets as well.
Between the altruistic leader and the voracious scorer, the current passed immediately. The defenses have not finished drooling…
“For his career-high score in Brooklyn, he should have had more balls in the third quarter. And I am well aware of it! », still laments Tyrese Haliburton. “And now that I have seen the video again, I know how to give him more opportunities in attack. He finished on 30 points but he should have had 40.”
