Bennedict Mathurin is officially back and active for the Indiana Pacers after being a gametime decision for tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons.
Mathurin averaged 31 points per game in the first two contests despite leaving the second game with the foot injury that sidelined him for the next 11 games.
The Pacers desperately need his scoring punch with how bad the offense has been this season but he may be somewhat limited with minutes as he returns.
“I hope so,” Rick Carlisle told Tony East when asked if Mathurin would play tonight before it was certain. “He’s coming along well. I don’t know what the minutes are going to look like. Got to watch it. He’s done well with his rehab and the ramp up. Hasn’t had setbacks.”
When T.J. McConnell came back recently, Carlisle said something similar and the backup point guard played just the first half. We’ll see if something similar is in store for the Pacers.
Before the Pacers previous contest, the organization was able to breathe a sigh of relief when Aaron Nesmith was ruled out for four weeks rather than four months when he was writhing in pain and exited a game early.
That’s where the Pacers season has gone where simply only missing a player for a month sounds like wonderful news.
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