Finals X Factor! How strong is Mathering in this year s playoffs?

Finals G3, Pacers defeated the Thunder 116-107.

In this game, the Pacers' two leading stars performed very well:

- Halliburton, 9 of 17 shots, 4 of 8 three-pointers, 0 free throws scored 22 points, 9 rebounds, 11 assists and 2 steals

- Siakam, 8 of 14 shots, 5 of 6 free throws, efficiently scored 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals

Previously, G1 and G2 played in two games, the Pacers only led by less than 2 minutes in total, and none of the team had scored 20+.

But in this game, not only did the two core members Halliburton and Siakam both scored 20+, but the biggest X factor on the bench also exploded, and his score was even higher than Harry and Siaka - yes, we are talking about Mathering.

Full game, Mathering made 9 of 12 shots, 2 of 3 three-pointers, 7 of 8 free throws, scored 27 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block, and his true shooting percentage in a single game was as high as 87%.

His score not only leads the team, but also has the highest score in the game. Considering that there are two All-Stars, Alexander and Jewish, this is not simple.

What's even more crazy is that Mathering only played 22 minutes and 24 seconds in this game. What is the rough idea? According to data released by the NBA, Matherin is the player with the highest score in less than 23 minutes in the history of the Finals, which shows how strong the scoring efficiency is.

In the same game, 22-year-old Mathering also linked his name to many well-known players:

-27 points tied the third highest score in the history of the finals, with only Sam Kassel (1995, 31 points) and Fred Brown (1978, 30 points). In addition, Terry (2011) and Ginobili (2007) also Substitutes scored 27 points in the bench - There are only five players under 23 in this century's finals, namely Kobe, Parker, James, Leonard, and Matherin

- There are only two players who scored 25+ with a 75% shooting percentage in the single game in the under 23-year-old finals. The records in 2014 and Matherin today's record are naturally wonderful, and what's more wonderful is the process.

To be honest, it is not easy for the Pacers to win in this game. They almost fell behind in the first quarter and overtook the second quarter. In the first quarter, Matherin did not get a chance to play, and then in the second quarter, Matherin attacked hard, made 5 of 6 in a single quarter, scoring 14 points. In this quarter, Pacers scored 40-28 and led the way into the second half with 4 points.

This is not over yet. In the third quarter, the Thunder regained the advantage under the leadership of the main force, and then in the critical fourth quarter, Matherin stood up again;

He scored 5 points in a row at the start of the fourth quarter, and then used a three-pointer to help the Pacers overtake again. In a single quarter, Matherin scored the most 10 points in the team.

It should be said that this is not the first time Matherin has played so well this year in the playoffs.

Previously, in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks, Matherin scored 20+ in two consecutive games in G4 and G5, and both had excellent efficiency:

- G4 in the Eastern Conference Finals, 5 of 8 shots, scored 20 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists

- G5 in the Eastern Conference Finals, 8 of 10 shots, scored 23 points and 9 rebounds

In the previous round, facing the Cavaliers' G2 and G3, Matherin also scored 19 points and 21 points in two consecutive games, with a total of 21 shots.

In fact, even in the finals G2, the Pacers defeated the Thunder, Matherin's performance was very good in that game. He only played less than 21 minutes in the game, made 4 of 7 shots, and scored 14 points.

Since the playoffs, Matherin's performance: playing in 18 games, averaging 11.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.

The data does not seem particularly explosive, but you need to know that Mathering averages only 16.7 minutes of playing time. If he converts to every 36 minutes, he can average 24 points per game.

The point is that Mathering's efficiency is amazing, with the three hits being 50.4%/31.8%/88.9% respectively, and the real hit rate is as high as 67.0%.

I have to sigh here that there are really too many players who will break out in the playoffs, and Matherin is one of them.

He averaged 28.9 minutes per game in the regular season, scored 16.1 points, scored 20.1 points per 36 minutes, shot 45.8% from the field and 57.9% from the real shooting percentage.

As a sixth man, Matherin's performance in the regular season is already very good, but unexpectedly, he can continue to upgrade in the playoffs. Although his playing time is much shorter, he can output efficiently as soon as he plays. In this finals G3, it can be said that he has completely proved his value.

Since this, some people may have questions. Since Mathering is so strong, why doesn't Carlisle let him play more?

This is mainly related to Matherin's style of play. His offensive skills are very good, but sometimes the offensive choice is not good. Moreover, Matherin is a typical scorer. He only has baskets in his eyes and makes many mistakes, including 1.9 assists and 1.9 turnovers in the regular season, and 0.8 assists and 1.2 turnovers in the playoffs.

Players like Mathering are very suitable for the sixth person, but there are also differences between the sixth person and the sixth person. Some sixth persons are easily defeated in high-level games, while Mathering is becoming more and more braver in the battle. Considering that he is only 23 years old, this is very rare.

For Mathering, our initial impression was that when he first entered the league, he said, "I don't think anyone is better than me, James also needs to prove that he is better than me.". ”

At that time, many people thought he was crazy, but now, you have to admit that he does have crazy skills. In the next finals, I hope to see this young man continue to shine on the stage of the finals.