Rick Carlisle praises Bennedict Mathurin’s approach during injury rehab
Indiana Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin returned from a four-game absence on Monday against the Charlotte Hornets due to a sprained right ankle.
Mathurin produced 18 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal in the 115-109 loss on the road. He went 7-of-10 from the field and hit his only 3-point attempt in 30 minutes of work in only his seventh start of the season for the short-handed Pacers.
The sixth pick suffered the injury on March 9 after rolling his ankle on the foot of a defender in an overtime win over the Houston Rockets. He immediately hit the court in pain and required assistance from two teammates to be carried back to the locker room.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was reluctant to give a timetable for when Mathurin would return, but the rookie standout progressed over the past week and was eventually cleared to play on Monday.
Carlisle loved how he attacked his rehab.
This is very surprising based on where we were a week ago. We’re not even two weeks (from when he was injured) but Benn loves to play and hates to sit. He despises going into the training room, even to socialize and he is a social guy. This is the culture that we want here. We want guys that want to play, that want to rehab and get back as quickly as possible without getting them back too soon.
Carlisle has emerged as a key player with the Pacers this season, mostly off of the bench. He had appeared in every game prior to suffering the injury and viewed it as a personal goal to avoid any setbacks and be available to play all season long.
He is averaging 16.7 points, four rebounds and 1.4 assists on 43.1% shooting from the field in 68 games. He is second in scoring and field goals among rookies and is one of two first-year players with multiple 30-point games this season (2).
