Overview
- Coach Rick Carlisle said Mathurin’s right thumb sprain has bothered him for weeks and offered no return date, noting it is on the guard’s shooting hand.
- Reporting also cites turf toe as part of his setback, following an earlier 11–12 game absence this season with a right toe sprain.
- Mathurin’s recent slide—13.5 points on 36.9% shooting over the last 11 games—tracks with the injury, though he is averaging a career-best 17.8 points with 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 24 appearances.
- Indiana owns the NBA’s worst record at 6–30 with a 12-game skid, compounded by Tyrese Haliburton’s season-ending Achilles tear and other prolonged injuries across the roster.
- League reporting suggests the injuries could cool prior trade interest in Mathurin as he approaches restricted free agency, where expectations peg his next deal near $25 million annually.