Remember when Wesley Matthews came over from Utah and took
over for Brandon Roy? That’s what I thought, it’s still a tough memory to deal
with, especially because he hasn’t had the same impact as Roy. How can the two
be compared though? Trying to compare Matthews to Roy is just unfair to Wesley.
Although he is not Brandon Roy, Matthews has done more than Roy in some
respects.
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| Photo Courtesy of: http://www.thesportsbank.net |
We’ll get back to the comparisons in a bit, but first let’s
review Matthews past. After three years at Marquette Matthews wasn’t really
anything special. However, his senior season he had a standout year. Only
playing in 26 games, Matthews averaged 18.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.5
assists per game, all career highs up to that point. He also hit 52.9% of his
shots from the field, 39.1% from three and 81.6 from the free throw line.
However, even after one wondrous season, Matthews still went
undrafted in the 2009 draft. That’s the same draft as a lot of good players, Ty
Lawson, Chase Budinger, Jrue Holiday, James Harden, etc. That year the Blazers
drafted Victor Claver and Dante Cunningham and traded for Jeff Pendergraph. Even
without being drafted, Matthews made his way onto an NBA roster and even
started a lot of games his rookie season with the Utah Jazz.
In his one season with Utah, Matthews averaged 9.4 points,
2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists a game. He played in all 82 games and started 48
of those games. The Jazz made the playoffs that year and Matthews was a huge
part of the team’s success. He played 37.1minutes a game and scored 13.2 points,
rebounded 4.4, assisted 1.7 and stole the ball 1.8 times a game. After his good
showing as a rookie, the Blazers offered him a 5-year $34 million contract. The
Jazz could have matched, but chose not to and the rest is history.
In his three seasons with Portland he has only played a full
season twice, his first year with the Blazers and the lockout shortened season.
Matthews only played in 69 games last year, but the good news is he started all
of those games. His first season with Portland was his best in terms of FG%,
3PT% and points per game. Matthews suffered a little bit last year with the offensive
onslaught laid out by Nicolas Batum, Damian Lillard and L.A. There wasn’t as
much for Matthews, but he still managed to average 14.8 points per game last
year.
Although he may never be as offensively gifted as Roy, defensively
Matthews is better and more established than Roy. Matthews is always ready and
willing to take on the opposing team’s best weapon. However, Batum will
sometimes take that role too. Regardless, Matthews has shown that he can guard
the best of them and still get his points. The one knock on Matthews has been
his lack of scoring at a position named for scoring, shooting guard. What most
people don’t know is that being a lockdown defender takes a lot out of a player
and makes it difficult to score on the other end.
Matthews’ starting job has been the most pondered question
(other than if L.A. will be traded). However, with the additions of Mo
Williams, Dorell Wright and C.J. McCollum it’s no wonder why Matthews’ starting
spot is being questioned. Now, Williams won’t be as much of an issue, but he
can score a lot too. Wright has proven he can be a sharpshooter from distance
and McCollum is only going to get better. The logjam at shooting guard could spell
a short leash for Matthews; however Terry Stotts has said that Matthews is the
starter going into the season.
After the 2014-2015 season, Matthews is an unrestricted free
agent, meaning he will have to prove that he is worth an extension this year
and/or next year. With McCollum sitting in the wings, Matthews could be on his
way out of Portland after his contract expires. If he can’t find his shooting
touch and lockdown defense, he may not be around to see how good McCollum can
be. However, all negativity and (possibly) odds against him I think Matthews
can return to the player that earned the 5-year deal he got from the Blazers
four years ago.
Matthews is a very capable shooting guard and is an even
better defender. The last few years he has shot like Rudy Fernandez,
inconsistently. Although the percentages will say otherwise, he had too many games
where he was stellar followed by games where he flopped. Again, Matthews will
turn it around. He will have to be more consistent from three, and with all the
weapons the Blazers now have he can be more reliable for Portland. If the
Blazers can establish L.A., Robin Lopez, Thomas Robinson and/or Meyers Leonard
down low on the block, it will open up space for Lillard, Matthews and Batum
for three pointers. Look for a big year out of Matthews or he could be out of
Portland before you know it.