Is it crazy to say that Wes Matthews....

[Brock]

is my favorite player on Blazers? Its crazy cause when we signed him it seemed like he would be a decent backup. The kid is emerging as one of the better sg's in the game. Great defense, hits the 3, nice pull up jumper..... only ball handling is questionable.

 

[tlongII]

Not crazy at all. He fits perfectly with the team and should be considered part of the core along with Aldridge and Batum.

 

[Blazinaway]

He's been very efficient this yr and though making a few mistakes IMO his ball handling overall has improved, ome of my favs as well.

 

[magnifier661]

Defense is such a underrated thing in the NBA. Especially by a shooting guard. I would consider Matthews one of the best at his position. And to top it off, he can actually score too! Nothing crazy about loving Matthews. He deserves the respect.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

and his contract is great considering what he brings to the team.

 

[magnifier661]

And he gets his points so quitely. I don't even remember too many of his scores, then see he had 18 last night. That proves he works well in our system. He's just that good.

 

[james3921]

Do you guys agree with me on this:

Doesn't it seem like his shots should never go in? I don't know if its his form, the way he pulls up, or the angle that he shoots at, but I always am surprised when it goes in (besides the set 3 in the corner). He seems to hit a higher percentage of bank shots and other glass shots as well. I always think they're never going in when he goes up though.

Is it just me?

 

[Nikolokolus]

There's nothing wrong with having Wesley be a personal favorite: he plays hard, he's likable and he can actually play a little bit.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

love Wessy Wes. Follow him on twitter, he's got a total winner's attitude. It shows on the court too.

 

[Draco]

Yeah I enjoy seeing him play. He does a good job of getting points efficiently in the offense, he isn't a ball stopping dribbler which was one thing about Roy that kind of annoyed me from time to time. I love seeing the team move people and move the ball. Wes is great at the catch and shoot. Outside of Gerald and LaMarcus, Wes has consitently been our next most valuable player. Andre had some great stretches last year so I guess you could make an argument for him as well. But I didn't expect Wes to be this accurate with the jump shot, he has been an elite snipper right up there with Korver, Kopono, or anyone in the league. He isn't a one dimensional role player like those guys.

 

[magnifier661]

Yeah I enjoy seeing him play. He does a good job of getting points efficiently in the offense, he isn't a ball stopping dribbler which was one thing about Roy that kind of annoyed me from time to time. I love seeing the team move people and move the ball. Wes is great at the catch and shoot. Outside of Gerald and LaMarcus, Wes has consitently been our next most valuable player. Andre had some great stretches last year so I guess you could make an argument for him as well. But I didn't expect Wes to be this accurate with the jump shot, he has been an elite snipper right up there with Korver, Kopono, or anyone in the league. He isn't a one dimensional role player like those guys.

Yeah that's the big difference. You put Korver or Kopono in, then your D suffers. You put Wes in and your D excels!

 

[blazerboy30]

I liked seeing some basketball IQ from this team last night. Having Wes post up Paul and use that strong body was a good plan to make Paul work and get some fouls.

 

[Further]

I like him too, but I wish he could dribble while looking up. He plays with his head down which not only means he misses cutters and the like, but he also drives in blindly to well defensed situations and gets caught. But the good news is that he is such a good scorer that even when he dribbles into a corner, he often finds a way to get two points. It's only his third season, and with his work ethic, I only see good things for Wes.

 

[magnifier661]

I like him too, but I wish he could dribble while looking up. He plays with his head down which not only means he misses cutters and the like, but he also drives in blindly to well defensed situations and gets caught. But the good news is that he is such a good scorer that even when he dribbles into a corner, he often finds a way to get two points. It's only his third season, and with his work ethic, I only see good things for Wes.

Clyde Drexler was notorious for driving with his head down. Obviously Wes isn't even close to the talent as Clyde; but some players just have that in em. Maybe he can grow like Clyde did and learn to distribute as well?

 

[mook]

His FG% is up, his 3pt% is still over .400, and his turnovers are significantly down: http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/matthwe02.html

His scoring is the same as last year (16ppg) but you gotta love the increased efficiency. That big uptick is offsetting all the garbage shooting we're getting from Felton and Crawford. If those two guys can just hit at their career averages, we'll be golden.

The only thing I have to criticize about Matthews (besides his passing and handle, which let's face it will never be outstanding) is that we don't run him off screens enough for jumpers. The general plan should be:
A) Score in transition
B) Feed Aldridge in the post (or Wallace or Matthews if they have a mismatch)
C) Run Matthews off screens
D) Let Wallace/Felton make something out of garbage that results from A, B and C.

And that's generally what happens. But sometimes D comes before C a little more than I like.

 

[mook]

Clyde Drexler was notorious for driving with his head down. Obviously Wes isn't even close to the talent as Clyde; but some players just have that in em. Maybe he can grow like Clyde did and learn to distribute as well?

I think there's a better chance that he follows the Reggie Miller/Rip Hamilton route of becoming known as a guy who runs everybody off screens. He just needs more practice (and the team needs to get better at setting picks for him).

He has a great motor, he has a great jump shot. So developing that part of his game seems a natural fit.

It seems like a much less likely transition for him to suddenly get a great handle or great passing ability at this point.

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

One of the biggest plays of the game last night was Wes's tip-in on a miss late in the game. He, Camby, and 2-3 Clippers were gathered in the key for the rebound, and Wes, probably the shortest of the growd, jumped up in the middle of everyone and popped the ball up and in with one hand. It was a key bucket when Portland was struggling to score and the Clips were closing in.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I think there's a better chance that he follows the Reggie Miller/Rip Hamilton route of becoming known as a guy who runs everybody off screens. He just needs more practice (and the team needs to get better at setting picks for him).

He has a great motor, he has a great jump shot. So developing that part of his game seems a natural fit.

It seems like a much less likely transition for him to suddenly get a great handle or great passing ability at this point.

I totally agree with this. Clyde was a freak athlete and much more of a ball-handler/shot creator than Wesley could even dream of -- They're not even remotely similar in terms of their game.

If Wesley becomes the best catch and shoot guard he can possibly be, his ceiling is much higher than if he were to spend most his time trying to morph into a guy who "creates" shots.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

Not at all. He is the third best player on our team.

 

[MickZagger]

Wes is my favorite player. I was stoked when we signed him. Sloan gave him the role of trying to stop Kobe in the playoffs during his rookie year. Tells me a lot. Every year I'm pleasantly surprised by his offense. Never thought he'd be a dead-eye shooter.

 

[Further]

I think there's a better chance that he follows the Reggie Miller/Rip Hamilton route of becoming known as a guy who runs everybody off screens. He just needs more practice (and the team needs to get better at setting picks for him).

He has a great motor, he has a great jump shot. So developing that part of his game seems a natural fit.

It seems like a much less likely transition for him to suddenly get a great handle or great passing ability at this point.

I totally agree with this. Clyde was a freak athlete and much more of a ball-handler/shot creator than Wesley could even dream of -- They're not even remotely similar in terms of their game.

If Wesley becomes the best catch and shoot guard he can possibly be, his ceiling is much higher than if he were to spend most his time trying to morph into a guy who "creates" shots.

I'm not sure he has the quick release needed to be that guy. Hope he does, but I don't see it.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

To think, Utah decided he wasn't worth keeping. Thank you Utah

 

[MickZagger]

If I remember right, they didn't have the money to sign him. The Blazers front loaded the contract. Much to the dismay of some posters around here/

 

[The_Lillard_King]

If I remember right, they didn't have the money to sign him. The Blazers front loaded the contract. Much to the dismay of some posters around here/

I thought he was a RFA and Utah could have matched. Maybe I'm wrong about this as I know Matthews was under a rare situation because he was a second round pick, he wasn't restricted to the first round draft pick salary caps and restrcitions.

I thought Utah was feeling the sting of having to match Milsap the year before and didn't want to do it again (with the whole front loaded contract).

In any event, one of the Blazers better moves in recent years.

 

[jlprk]

because he was a second round pick, he wasn't restricted to the first round draft pick salary caps and restrcitions.

He was undrafted.
------
No one except me posts in awe about how big he is. He has monstrous size for a guard. There are SGs who are taller than Matthews, but none are as wide.

40 years ago he'd have been a forward. He's the same size as Elgin Baylor. He's bigger than Baylor's replacement on the Laker team that won 33 in a row, forward Jim McMillan.

 

[Draco]

Wes was a RFA and Utah didn't match. They didn't think he'd be worth his contract.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I'm not sure he has the quick release needed to be that guy. Hope he does, but I don't see it.

Oh I didn't say he'd ever be as good as Ray or Rip, but my main point was that people shouldn't expect him to become much of a shot creator like Brandon or Clyde and that Wesley's path to success in the NBA (to whatever degree that is) is probably as a more classic spot up shooter who makes his living off of people getting him the ball when he's open, as opposed to him getting himself open.

 

[magnifier661]

Oh I didn't say he'd ever be as good as Ray or Rip, but my main point was that people shouldn't expect him to become much of a shot creator like Brandon or Clyde and that Wesley's path to success in the NBA (to whatever degree that is) is probably as a more classic spot up shooter who makes his living off of people getting him the ball when he's open, as opposed to him getting himself open.

I agree as well. I was just mentioning "Drexler" in terms of a player that drives to the basket with his head down. I also stated that Matthews was nowhere near the talent of Drexler either.