The Indiana Pacers will be an interesting team to watch in the 2025/26 NBA season for obvious reasons.
The Pacers played their finals last season thanks to a magical playoff run led by superstar Tailese Halliburton.
Unfortunately, Halliburton will rupture his Achilles tendon in Game 7 and end up spending a year on the bystander.
The Pacers no longer have a title aspirations, but they remain optimistic about making the playoffs.
Head coach Rick Carlisle relies on significant contributions from several role players to make it happen.
Windhorst assessed the Indiana Pacers’ situation as they head into next season with their Hoop Collective Podcast.
Without Halliburton, expectations are low, but if a certain player stepped up, Pacers could make noise at the Eastern Conference.
Windhorst selected Bennedict Mathurin as an Indiana player and turned his eyes to the ups and downs of the 2024/25 season.
“The celebrity would be Benedict Matlin,” he said. “Mathurin is interesting for two reasons. Mathurin is eligible for expansion, and it is unclear how much the Pacers will invest in this roster.
“They certainly drew lines in the sand of Miles Turner. It sent a message. Of course they didn’t spend money on re-signing Miles Turner, so in theory they could have had the money to expand Benedict Matlin.
“But Rick Carlisle came out and said, ‘Bennedict Maturin would be in the starting lineup.’ He’ll get this big boost. So, if he has a big step forward… he might even want to wait for his signature.
“He may have a breakout year. He’s a bit of a shaky player. In the final last year, we found out he had a tournament (finals).”
Windhorst co-host Tim McMahon pointed out that Mathurin plays a limited role in the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Despite scoring 27 points in Game 3, Mathurin barely played in Game 4, making it hard to believe Carlisle actually views him as a key player.
“What we saw was that Rick Carlisle didn’t trust him completely because when he scored 27 in 23 minutes, 9-12 from the floor, he had a huge game in Game 3,” explained McMahon. “He only played 14 minutes in the next game.
“So listen to the words. You can say Rick trusts everything he wants, but the guy has a big game, gives him a series lead, regaining his home court advantage and doesn’t play much in the next game.”