The Early Numbers Behind The Tyrese Haliburton And Bennedict Mathurin Pairing

The Indiana Pacers have two premier young talents on their roster in Bennedict Mathurin and Tyrese Haliburton. And through 20 games, the duo has shown how strong they are together — and how good they could be in the future.

What stands out the most about the duo is their ability to help Indiana’s offense be elite. With both guards on the court, Indiana has a 115.31 offensive rating, which is barely under a top-five offense in the league level. Haliburton’s passing and shooting combined with Mathurin’s outside shooting and ability to get to the foul line are a hard combination for opponents to defend.

Despite just over one-third of the Pacers total minutes this season containing both Haliburton and Mathurin, 36.5% of the teams free throw attempts have come with the duo on the court. Their gravity, and Mathurin’s ability to get to the line, create efficient attempts at the charity stripe. 36.7% of the Pacers’ three-point shot attempts have come with both of the duo on the floor, and those have gone in at a 36.2% rate, above Indiana’s season average. And the Pacers, who have taken 196 shots at the rim with the pair on the court, have only taken 569 from in close the entire season.

No matter how you slice the numbers, the Pacers get better shot attempts when Haliburton and Mathurin are on the court together, and they largely make them — the team has a 55.1% true shooting percentage with both players in the game. That’s why the team’s offense is so electric with both players on the court.

“In training camp, I was like ‘bro, you’re not getting to the free throw line as much as you think’ when he was complaining for calls,” Haliburton recalls telling Mathurin before the season started. “He gets there… he’s really hard to guard.”

In total, lineups with both players are +3 this season despite some poor defense. The top group to play alongside the pairing features Terry Taylor, Andrew Nembhard, and Buddy Hield — that group has a ton of firepower and has scored 34 points in 20 minutes. But other effective lineups around the young guard duo contain multiple specialists on either end of the floor, such as a defense-heavy lineup with Myles Turner and Aaron Nesmith or an offensive-centered unit with Hield flanking the ball handlers. Because Mathurin and Haliburton are so potent on offense, they can be surrounded by a number of different combinations and still succeed.

The two fit together extremely well. Haliburton is good at manipulating opposing teams with attacks and passes, and his ability to read the defense and fire the ball to a teammate makes other Pacers players more effective. Mathurin can push the ball into the heart of a defense and score at the rim — he’s shooting over 60% from 0-3 feet — while also hitting outside shots more than 40% of the time. The rookie guard is already skilled at moving without the ball and finding ways to punish cracked defenses, which makes him a tremendous fit with Haliburton, who can change coverages with his own attacks.

“I can’t do it without these guys making shots. They make me look better than I am,” Tyese Haliburton said of his passing and assist numbers. Haliburton has 23 assists to Mathurin this season with three coming back his way from the sixth overall pick.

Lineups with just Haliburton and no Mathurin can score well, but they can’t defend well enough to grow a lead. When the inverse happens and Mathurin is in the game but Haliburton isn’t, Indiana struggles offensively but defends well. The individual units both work, but not at a high level. And the Pacers need the pair to grow chemistry — they are the future of the franchise.

With both players on the court, the Pacers do need to defend better. That’s been the biggest issue for the duo so far. Neither of them are particularly skilled at keeping their matchup in front of them, something the Pacers have referred to as “guarding your yard”. But they have still outscored opponents with the pairing on the court, and their bond has grown throughout the season. The Pacers had a negative point differential with the two playing together through 13 games, but that number has grown since and is now above zero with one-fourth of the season done.

57.5% of Mathurin’s minutes have been with Haliburton while 48% of Haliburton’s playing time has come with Mathurin on the floor. Pacers head coach Rick Carlsile has done a good job of pairing the two players enough to have their connection grow while also giving them their own opportunities to produce improve. Mathurin still comes off the bench for the blue and gold — but he still spends a ton of time on the court with members of the starting lineup and often closes games. Starting doesn’t matter as long as the youngster is still playing frequently and getting plenty of time with Haliburton.

Ever since drafting Mathurin, the Pacers organization has been high on his work ethic and skill. Haliburton, meanwhile, has been given the keys to the franchise and has grown quickly with his perfectionist mindset. The two have ideal mentalities for young players, and it has allowed them to flourish both as individuals and together.

The Haliburton-Mathurin pairing has work to do on the defensive end, and they could improve their ability to finish plays inside the arc when on the court together. But the fact that a duo featuring two players under 23-years old is already so effective speaks volumes about the skill of both players, and it says a lot about the future of the Indiana Pacers — which is incredibly bright.