Fans of the LA Clippers can collectively agree that since Bennedict Mathurin made his debut, he has helped the team in almost every way, shape, or form. He has proven his mid-range, finishing, playmaking, and defense to be phenomenal, yet something is missing: three-point shooting. He has struggled, which has drowned the Clippers, and this needs to be fixed in the lab over the summer; it will not happen mid-season.
In fact, Mathurin has played five games as a Clipper, and he has only drilled five out of 20 attempts. That is a whopping 25.0%, and simultaneously, LA has recorded the second-worst clip in the league at 29.6%, ahead of the Sacramento Kings.
But with Mathurin’s career percentage roughly average at 34.5%, it is clear there is room for improvement. He just needs an offseason to get his reps in, tweak his mechanics, and understand what is wrong in order to fix it.
Bennedict Mathurin’s game only needs a three-point shot to be complete
LA Clippers’ franchise superstar, Kawhi Leonard, takes pride in working as hard as he can during the summer. He could be perfect, and will still grind every day. This, along with shooting coaches, is exactly who Bennedict Mathurin needs to spend his time with to elevate his game to the next level.
Moreover, once Mathurin strikes gold and figures out what he is doing wrong, he will not look back, even for a split second; his days will only trend upwards from there. Why? Because he is already great at everything else.
The Indiana Pacers' former lottery pick is averaging 22.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.8 steals as a 23-year-old wing in five games as a Clipper. This is ridiculously impressive, given how quickly he adjusted to his new threads after the first trade of his career, and it hints that a breakout is near.
Even the advanced metrics back up his excellence on both sides of the ball, as he has posted the best pace (99.80), defensive rating (106.6), and net rating (3.4) since arriving; he is really turning out to be better than advertised.
That said, given how difficult it is for players to make jumpshot tweaks on the fly, fans will likely have to wait until next season for the best version of the rising star. However, when it arrives, Mathurin will look like a whole new player that fans have been dreaming of.