Because Mathurin has the potential to be a very good NBA player. Right now, he is below average, and is actively making our team worse.
I disagree.
Carlisle does not know how to get the best of his players. Haliburton has never averaged so many point in last 4-5 games and the team is barely playing .500 in those games… Hali is not the problem obviously, just saying that if YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO USE MATHURIN and understand that when he scores, he gets fired up, gets fired up on Defense and then fires up the crowd and the team, then you don’t know psychology or you haven’t watched Ben last year and also at Arizona.
Psychology. Make the most out of Ben. You picked him #6… not to have him stand in the corner 3… hoping for a pass that never ever comes, and then Benn is left to his own devices to go for a curl off a pick with his left hand and have to force the issue. To see this wasted talent wait in the corner is simply unwatchable right now and quite frankly makes the pacers less fun to watch
I was at the game and Haliburton was being backed down by a big and the entire staff was screaming at Mathurin to run over and help. He ignored them and was pulled the next possession. He doesn’t hate Benn, he’s trying to help him grow.
Here’s the thing. I think Mathurin has superstar potential ( potential being the operative word) but he day dreams on defense and makes too many mistakes. I’m still very high on Mathurin but you have to ask yourself if Carlisle can handle those kinds of players. He did leave Doncic… Not comparing the two but just saying that to choose to leave Doncic, that means that you think pretty highly of yourself as a coach.
Rick has an ego and a way that he wants to do things. But he has to look in the mirror and see if he has taken away all the confidence and air out of Mathurin’s bravado… I mean this kid’s swag in the first year is way way different than now… now he looks like a soldier doing his best… last year a clear potential superstar.
Mathurin has to stop ball watching and be smarter on D. That’s on him. He loves to score but he needs to go for every rebound ( like when he gets 8 or 9) and not go back to zero. So that’s all on Mathurin for sure.
But Carlisle has to ask himself… as a coach… a leader… a manager… is that the best way to instill confidence… See, some employees, players, need a kick in the butt! … and some …players and employees… need to be given supreme confidence boost to perform. Not everybody has the same triggers… Mathurin is the latter… when Mathurin scores and is involved on offence, his defence picks up. This is clear as water.
Carlisle has to learn to push the right buttons… right now he is destroying Mathurin from inside…
I love that kid. But something’s got to give either way, soon. This is unwatchable to see Mathurin standing in the corner 3 waiting for a pass and getting blamed on Defense…