Pacers Notes: Turner, Mathurin, Nesmith, Okafor

Returning from a neck injury on Thursday and playing for the first time in two weeks, Pacers center Myles Turner looked fully healthy, logging a team-high 33 minutes as Indiana outscored Memphis by 22 points during his time on the court. Turner led the Pacers to an impressive victory over the Grizzlies by contributing 17 points, 10 rebounds, and seven blocked shots.

As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star writes, Turner’s performance was a reminder of why the Pacers showed no interest in trading him at this month’s deadline despite his uncertain contract situation.

“He’s a very integral part of what we do and why our offense has been so good over these last couple years,” point guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “To get him back really helps.”

“He was huge around the basket,” head coach Rick Carlisle added. “The seven blocks were enormous in this game. And when he gets a double-double, we’re very, very difficult to beat.”

Turner won’t become extension-eligible prior to his unrestricted free agency this summer and there has been some outside speculation that the Pacers won’t be comfortable giving him a significant raise on his current $19.9MM salary. However, the fact that Indiana didn’t seriously entertain the idea of moving the big man by Feb. 6 suggests the club has a level of confidence in its ability to retain him beyond this season.

Here’s more on the Pacers:

• Although Bennedict Mathurin played very well as a starter for most of the season, Carlisle believes having Aaron Nesmith in the starting five and Mathurin coming off the bench makes the most sense for the team as a whole, Dopirak writes for The Indianapolis Star. “It doesn’t matter who starts,” Carlisle said earlier this week. “What matters is we’re doing what’s best for the team. We have great guys. We communicate very carefully with them about these decisions. … I don’t like a lot of upheaval. I don’t like lineup changes, all that kinda stuff. But when something like this comes along and there’s so much evidence that it’s the right thing for so many reasons analytically and probably with the eye test too, you’ve gotta take note.”
• As Dopirak points out, with Mathurin eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2025 offseason, it’s fair to wonder how playing with the second unit – or bouncing back and forth between starter and bench roles – will affect his development and his value. For his part, the 22-year-old doesn’t sound worried about it. “For me, it’s the same thing whether I start or not or come off the bench,” Mathurin said. “I still have the same mentality. At the end of the day, we have 29 games left. Everybody’s trying to win and trying go to the playoffs and have a deep run again. I feel like everybody has the same mindset and that’s pretty much what we need.”
• Jahlil Okafor‘s 10-day contract with the Pacers expired on Thursday night. A source tells Dopirak that the team doesn’t have any plans to re-sign Okafor or fill his roster spot with a new player right away. The former No. 3 overall pick, who would be eligible for a second 10-day deal with Indiana, will return to the club’s G League affiliate for the time being, Dopirak adds.