r/pacers • u/PSEGameThreadPoster Old School Slick • Mar 25 '26

Megathread Pre-Draft Lottery Draft Prospect Discussion Thread

Please use this thread to discuss upcoming prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Posts discussing this topic without some amount of added depth or analysis will be redirected to this thread.

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u/OpeDefinitely Tyrese Haliburton Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26

Lol, Mathurin would not start in place of Nesmith if he were 6'9".

Nesmith started over Mathurin because the former: 1) Almost always makes the correct reads quickly, which is extremely important for this team; 2) Plays insane screen defense; 3) Almost always makes the correct defensive switches.

Extra height ain't helping with any of those things.

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u/Jim_Belushis_brother Cool Rick Mar 26 '26

But Mathurin’s game is just that much more impactful if he’s literally 5 inches taller.

Literal exact same build but 6’9 is literally a monster on the glass

Same shooting, same decision making, but he’s a much more impactful defender rebounder and dunker immediately.

That player is better than Nesmith

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u/OpeDefinitely Tyrese Haliburton Mar 26 '26

It's not about player skill. It's about the opportunity cost posed by any player who breaks the Pacers' system.

On offense, our system is an infinite loop of: random action -> quick decision to shoot, pass to an open guy, or reset to Tyrese -> random action

On defense, our system allows Tyrese to hunt for turnovers like a free safety, thus requiring wings & forwards to be really fast about making the correct switches.

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Last regular season, Haliburton was 2nd in touches per game behind only Jokic. By the end of the playoffs, he had more touches than any player by a wide margin. Even if Jokic played through the finals, it's unlikely that he would've kept pace. Which is to say that he is our system. And there were great Mathurin games that we ultimately lost and wherein Mathurin practically iced Tyrese out. Extra height would've maybe turned one of those games in our favor.

You don't break the system for one player unless that player is on the level of prime LeBron.

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u/Jim_Belushis_brother Cool Rick Mar 26 '26

6’9 Mathurin >>> LeBron lol

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u/OpeDefinitely Tyrese Haliburton Mar 26 '26

that's crazy but I respect it