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英语原文摘自Tony East在福布斯发表的文章

INDIANAPOLIS – After bouncing in and out of the starting lineup for much of his first three seasons, Bennedict Mathurin will be the opening night starter at two guard for the Indiana Pacers in 2025-26.

印第安纳波利斯——在前三个赛季的大部分时间里，本尼迪克特·马瑟林 都在首发阵容中徘徊，但他将在 2025-26 赛季担任印第安纳溜马队的揭幕战首发2号位。

So far in his career, Mathurin has been a part of the opening lineup in about 40% of his games. His second season was the only one in which Mathurin began the season as a starter, but Buddy Hield moved into that spot about a month into the campaign. Now, as Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle revealed on the Basketball, She Wrote podcast earlier this month, Mathurin will be the shooting guard in the opening five once things get rolling for 2025-26.

职业生涯至今，马瑟林在大约40%的比赛中担任首发。他的第二个赛季是唯一一个赛季开始时首发身份出战的赛季，但赛季开始约一个月后，巴迪·希尔德就取代了他。现在，正如溜马队主教练里克·卡莱尔本月早些时候在“篮球，她写道”播客节目中透露的那样，一旦2025-26赛季开始，马瑟林将成为首发五虎中的得分后卫。

“I’ll break the news right here. I’m projecting him as our starter at this year on day one,” Carlisle shared. He explained that he told Mathurin and his agent the news on the phone earlier in the offseason. “You’re going to be with the starters on day one. It’s your job to lose,” Carlisle told Mathurin.

“我现在就宣布这个消息。我预计他今年第一天就会成为我们的首发（2号位），”卡莱尔分享道。他解释说，他在休赛期早些时候通过电话告诉了马瑟林和他的经纪人这个消息。“你第一天就会和首发球员们在一起。除非你自己把位置弄丢，”卡莱尔告诉马瑟林。

It comes at a crucial time in Mathurin’s career. He’s entering the fourth and final season of his rookie scale contract, meaning he will be a free agent next summer. That is, unless he signs a contract extension with the Pacers in the fall – a possibility until October 20. Almost every 2022 first-round draft pick is eligible for a rookie-scale contract extension this offseason, with four players (Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams) already agreeing to one.

这正值马瑟林职业生涯的关键时刻。他即将进入新秀合同的第四个赛季，也是最后一个赛季，这意味着他明年夏天将成为自由球员。除非他在秋季与溜马队续约——这种可能性一直持续至10月20日。几乎每位2022年首轮选秀球员都有资格在这个休赛期获得一份新秀续约合同，目前已有四名球员（保罗·班凯罗、贾巴里·史密斯、切特·霍姆格伦和杰伦·威廉姆斯）同意续约。

That quartet has well-established roles with their current team, though. Mathurin does not. He has toggled between bench weapon and starter throughout his career, and he can score against just about anybody. His defense, particularly on the ball, is improving.

不过，这四人组在目前的球队中已经确立了各自的角色。马瑟林却并非如此。在他的整个职业生涯中，他一直在替补球员和首发球员之间来回切换，而且他几乎可以在任何对手面前得分。他的防守，尤其是对持球人的防守，正在不断进步。

But his decision making and processing speed have always been roadblocks, and on a Pacers team that wants to lead the league in passes and play with pace, they are hurdles that have to be overcome. That has been the constant war during Mathurin’s career – being himself vs being what the Pacers system often requires.

但他的决策能力和处理速度一直是他的绊脚石，而对于一支想要在传球和节奏方面领跑联盟的溜马队来说，这些都是必须克服的障碍。这就是马瑟林职业生涯中持续不断的斗争——做自己和成为溜马队体系所要求的样子。

“He saw a path to being a great player in the NBA that’s probably a little dated now… the game has just changed a lot,” Carlisle said. “Our job as coaches is to meld guys like him that aren’t necessarily seamless fits into a style that is effective for the rest of the guys and bring both forces hopefully closer together as time goes on.”

“他看到了一条在NBA成为伟大球员的道路，这条道路现在看来可能有点过时了……比赛已经发生了很大变化，”卡莱尔说。“作为教练，我们的工作就是把像他这样并非天衣无缝的球员，融入到一种适合其他球员的风格中，并希望随着时间的推移，把这两种力量更紧密地结合在一起。”

Indiana’s head coach, who received a contract extension recently, went on to say that Mathurin continues to make gradual improvements when it comes to quick decision making and believes the young guard will get to where he needs to be in that department. The next steps for Mathurin are running hard to the corners and stretching out a defense, Carlisle explained.

印第安纳球队的主教练最近刚刚获得续约，他继续表示，马瑟林在快速决策方面正在逐步提高，并相信这位年轻的后卫能够达到他在这方面需要达到的水平。卡莱尔解释说，马瑟林的下一步是努力跑向底角并拉开防守。

Those improvements, of course, will come on top of his natural gifts. “This is a part of Mathurin’s game that we keep talking to him about. He’s a guy that is just a natural scorer. You put him in a rat game with a bunch of switching and a bunch of physical stuff, that guy’s gonna go find 18 points and he’s going to shoot seven free throws,” Carlisle said.

当然，这些进步将建立在他天赋的基础之上。“这是我们一直在跟[本尼迪克特]马瑟林谈论的比赛风格的一部分。他是一个天生的得分手。如果你让他打一场节奏慢、换防多、身体对抗强的比赛，他就能砍下18分，还能投进7个罚球，”卡莱尔说。

It isn’t unusual at all for a player to still be growing and adapting their play style in their fourth season. If anything, given how much change there is in the NBA, it’s expected. But for Mathurin, during an offseason during which he could receive a contract extension, it’s more notable. After next season, he’ll be a free agent. He has much to show on top of the scoring gifts he’s proven beyond a doubt that he possesses.

一名球员在第四个赛季仍在成长和调整自己的打法，这很正常。考虑到NBA的瞬息万变，这在意料之中。但对于马瑟林来说，在这个他可能获得一份续约合同的休赛期，这就更值得注意了。下个赛季结束后，他将成为自由球员。除了他毋庸置疑的得分天赋之外，他还有很多东西需要展现。

Look no further than opening night of the 2024-25 campaign. After missing dozens of games to close his second season thanks to a shoulder injury, Mathurin returned for his third year and reminded everyone what he is capable of. In a narrow win over the Detroit Pistons, the Canadian pro had 19 points and six rebounds – it took him just eight shot attempts to do it.

2024-25赛季的揭幕战之夜就是最好的证明。在第二个赛季因肩伤缺席数十场比赛后，马瑟林重返赛场，开启了他的第三个赛季，并向所有人证明了他的能力。在险胜底特律活塞队的比赛中，这位加拿大职业球员仅用8次出手就砍下19分和6个篮板。

Players who score a lot of points get paid well. 50 NBA players averaged 20 or more points per game last season – all but two of them (Austin Reaves and Coby White) are set to make $20 million or more in 2025-26 with the exception of players on their rookie-scale deals. With Cam Thomas still unsigned, the average salary of the non-rookie scale 20-plus point scorers from last season is over $40 million.

得分多的球员薪水很高。上赛季，NBA 有 50 名球员平均每场得分达到或超过 20 分，其中除了两名球员（奥斯汀·里夫斯和科比·怀特）外，其他球员在 2025-26 年的薪水都将达到或超过 2000 万美元，新秀合同期的球员除外。在卡姆·托马斯仍未签约的情况下，上赛季非新秀级别 20 分以上得分手的平均薪资超过了 4000 万美元。

Mathurin has never reached 20 points per game. He’s never even achieved 17. But in his three seasons, he’s had Tyrese Haliburton as a teammate. In the coming season, a contract year for Mathurin, Haliburton won’t play. Haliburton’s absence is the reason that Indiana has an opening in the starting five for Mahturin – Andrew Nembhard will take over the lead ball handler spot.

马瑟林的场均得分从未达到过20 分。甚至从未达到过 17 分。但在他的三个赛季里，他的队友都是泰瑞斯·哈利伯顿。新赛季是马瑟林的合同年，哈利伯顿将不会上场。由于哈利伯顿的缺席，印第安纳球队的先发五人组合为马瑟林腾出了一个空缺--安德鲁·内姆布哈德将接替他的主力控球手位置。

Last season, Mathurin played 29.8 minutes per game and scored 16.1 points. His playing time should jump ever so slightly with his coming move into the starting five, though he did start 49 times in 2024-25. A slight bump in minutes won’t be enough for Mathurin to get his scoring average into the 20s. Haliburton’s injury could lift his numbers, though. Last season. Mathurin’s usage rate when he shared the floor with Haliburton was 21%, and that accounted for about 64% of his minutes. When Mathurin played without the star point guard, his usage rate climbed to 26.4%.

上赛季，马瑟林场均上场 29.8 分钟，得到 16.1 分。随着他进入首发阵容，他的上场时间应该会略有增加，尽管他在 2024-25 赛季确实首发了 49 次。上场时间的略微增加不足以让马瑟林的场均得分达到 20 多分。不过，哈利伯顿的受伤可能会提升他的数据。上赛季。当马瑟林与哈利伯顿同时上场时，他的使用率为 21%，这占了他上场时间的 64% 左右。当马瑟林没有这位明星控球后卫时，他的使用率攀升至 26.4%。

It’s plausible that Mathurin could see a usage jump and a minutes jump. How much those forces influence his scoring will be telling – both in a league where points per game has a strong correlation with salary and on a Pacers team that will look different this season. But those factors make the Pacers run into a wall.

马瑟林的使用率和上场时间都有可能大幅提升。这些因素对他的得分有多大影响还有待观察——无论是在一个场均得分与薪水高度相关的联盟，还是在本赛季面貌迥异的溜马队。但这些因素让溜马队陷入困境。

If the Pacers and Mathurin look to find common ground on a contract extension now, then the team would be paying for what they hope Mathurin will do once Haliburton is back in two seasons. They have three years of production to base that value on. Indiana’s front office will want Mathurin’s salary and production to match – but that’s a tough estimate since it’s possible that Mathurin keeps ascending, but also possible his fit troubles remain.

如果溜马队和马瑟林现在就续约问题达成共识，那么球队将为他们希望马瑟林在两个赛季内哈利伯顿复出后的表现买单。他们有三年的表现作为这个价值的依据。溜马队的管理层希望马瑟林的薪水和表现相匹配——但这很难估计，因为马瑟林有可能继续提升，但也有可能他的适应性问题依然存在。

Mathurin may not want to extend his contract now when a big scoring season, and thus a stronger negotiating position, could be coming his way ahead of restricted free agency. However, it’s fair for any talented youngster to be afraid of restricted free agency right now given the current offseason outlook for players like Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes, Josh Giddey, and Thomas. That quartet remains unsigned.

马瑟林现在可能不想续约，因为在成为受限制自由球员之前，他可能会迎来一个高得分的赛季，从而获得更有利的谈判地位。然而，考虑到乔纳森·库明加、昆廷·格兰姆斯、约什·吉迪和托马斯等球员目前休赛期的前景，任何有天赋的年轻球员现在害怕成为受限制自由球员也是理所当然的。这四位球员目前仍未签约。

The Pacers also project to be somewhere between $20-26 million shy of the luxury tax line next offseason, and that’s before any trades or signings made during the coming campaign. It’s reasonable for the team to value flexibility and the crutch of restricted free agency over an extension with Mathurin in the ongoing offseason.

溜马队预计下个休赛期的薪资空间将比奢侈税线低2000万到2600万美元，这还不包括赛季期间的任何交易或签约。在即将到来的休赛期，球队更看重薪金空间灵活性和受限制自由球员身份，而不是与马瑟林续约，这是合理的。

And the team may just not care how much Mathurin scores. Points are the objective of the sport and are obviously good. But for years, the Pacers have made it clear that they are trying to meld what they do well – execute with tempo, move the ball, and play randomly – with what Mathurin does well. The young guard is more of a face-up player. He’s been most comfortable when he has chances to catch the ball, turn to face the basket, and make a play against his defender.

球队或许根本不在乎马瑟林能得多少分。得分是这项运动的目的，这当然是好事。但多年来，溜马队一直明确表示，他们正努力将自己的强项——节奏执行、转移球和随机应变——与马瑟林的强项融合在一起。这位年轻的后卫更擅长面框进攻。当他有机会接球、转身面对篮筐并与防守球员对抗时，他感觉最自在。

He’s good at it. It works often. But Carlisle spoke about that balance on March 22, just two days after Mathurin willed the Pacers to a win with a 28-point, 16-rebound performance in an overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets.

他很擅长这个，而且经常奏效。但卡莱尔在3月22日谈到了这种平衡，就在马瑟林在加时赛战胜布鲁克林篮网的比赛中砍下28分16篮板帮助溜马队获胜的两天后。

“He’s making progress all the time. These last couple of games, we’ve needed him to get the ball, put his head down, and just go find a basket," Carlisle began. "That’s not the best way for us to play overall. And one reason we got in those circumstances, particularly last game, was we had poor spacing, we weren’t cutting, we weren’t moving. And so we clogged the court up and threw the ball all over and hit the no smoking signs. Really. I mean, that’s what happened. And so we needed him to help bail us out.

“他一直在进步。最近几场比赛，我们需要他拿到球，低下头，然后去找篮筐，”卡莱尔说道。“总的来说，这不是我们最好的打法。我们陷入那种境地的原因之一，尤其是上场比赛，是因为我们空间太小，没有切入，没有移动。所以我们把球场挤得水泄不通，把球扔得到处都是，还撞到了禁烟标志。真的。我的意思是，事情就是这样。所以我们需要他来帮我们摆脱困境。”

“But we’re not going to win in the playoffs putting ourselves in those kinds of positions or putting him in those kinds of positions,” the head coach continued. “You guys have seen some of the stuff about our odds to win in some of these circumstances, this is not a way to make a living on a day-to-day basis.”

“但如果我们把自己或他放在那样的位置，我们不会在季后赛赢球，”主教练继续说道。“你们已经看到了我们在这种情况下获胜的几率，这不是我们日常谋生的方式。”

That’s why Mathurin’s starting job this season is full of intrigue. He’ll have more chances to score points, something he’s good at and something that has historically correlated with financial success. But the Pacers may be more interested in paying Mathurin if he continues to grow in other ways. His decision making – particularly when done quickly – his defense, and his overall ability to cut and get to open space in transition will be key this year.

这就是为什么马瑟林本赛季的首发位置充满悬念。他将有更多机会得分，这是他擅长的，而且从历史上看，也是与经济成功相关的事情。但如果马瑟林在其他方面继续进步，溜马队可能更愿意支付他的薪水。他的决策能力——尤其是在快速做出决策时——他的防守能力，以及他在转换进攻中切入和创造空位的整体能力，都将是本赛季的关键。

Those traits will be more important for the blue and gold once Haliburton returns. So it’s up to Mathurin, who has rightly earned a starting spot coming into his fourth season, to find the right balance of the things that make him great and the things that make the Pacers great. Indiana will need him to score, and he should look to use his natural gifts often. But his added responsibility this season needs to come with improvement in other ways, too.

一旦哈利伯顿回归，这些特质对蓝金军团来说将更加重要。因此，马瑟林——这位在第四个赛季就当之无愧地赢得了首发位置的球员——需要在自身优势和溜马队优势之间找到平衡。印第安纳球队需要他得分，他也应该努力发挥自己的天赋。但本赛季他责任的增加也需要伴随着其他方面的进步。