Pacers projected lineup and rotations heading into 2023-24 season
Indiana Pacers starting shooting guard: Bennedict Mathurin
The No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft has become one of the brightest lights for the Pacers future. Bennedict Mathurin was mainly coming off the bench, only starting 17 out of the 78 games he played in, but he deserves to be a starter this season.
Last season Mathurin averaged 16.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 43/32/83 shooting splits, leading him to finish fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting and was selected to the All-Rookie first team.
Mathurin is going to be the perfect 2-guard alongside Tyrese Haliburton. Since the majority of Mathurin shots are assisted, Halibruton's playmaking ability will allow him to score with so much more ease. As Mathurin develops, his shot will get better and make him a bigger threat to score.
Primary backup shooting guard: Andrew Nembhard
Andrew Nembhart was a second round pick and primarily the Pacers starting shooting guard, starting 63 of the 75 games that he played in. With Bennedict Mathurin playing as well as he did, Nembhart should be coming off the bench to start the season.
He also had a solid rookie season where he averaged 9.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, on 44/35/79 shooting splits. The reason he was starting over Mathurin last season was because of his defensive presence.
Last season Nembhart and Mathurin both had a similar impact on the defensive side of the ball but where Nembhart separated himself was he is the slightly better shooter. If any player is able to shoot 3s, you're going to receive minutes.
There is a chance that Rick Carlisle may decide that Mathurin is best off the bench and be a great sixth man in the league so Nembhart can start. Both Mathurin and Nembhart are going into the sophomore season and will both be better but, they should experiment with Mathurin in the starting lineup to start the season.