I went to the game tonight mostly to see him. He did not disappoint. The words that best describe him are heady, steady, confident, in control, and skilled. The player he actually reminded me of is . . . Brandon Roy.
Trade Matthews for CP3. He's younger, cheaper and has less injury history...the Hornets are going to want him, not Roy.
On a more serious note, Matthews is the guy I hope ultimately fills the "Bruce Bowen" role, of a dedicated defender and three-point shooter. Batum I have greater hope and expectations for. If Matthews does end up being a lockdown defender and very good perimeter shooter, I'll be very happy with his acquisition and cost.
I didn't know what to expect at all actually. All I am saying is that his style of play reminded me of B Roy.
He has what it takes to be a legit 6moty candidate. If Rudy stays, I see them being a very effective dynamic duo.
I thought long and hard to try and figure out he reminded me of playing style wise. I came up with Jimmy "Wall Street" Jackson. He isn't a great 3 point shooter, but hits it at a good clip. Like Jackson, he is very efficient and hits the boards, and is a very physical player.
He kinda reminds me of a Ricky Pierce type. I think the thing I was impressed by most tonight was his ability to take it to the hoop and draw fouls. Attacking the hoop is a great assett.
The more I hear about this guy (and after watching him at the intersquad scrimmage) it almost seems like he could combine the best parts of Martell (smart and committed to D) and Travis (good bench scorer, pretty good under pressure) without throwing in the nasty bits (Martell's horrid in-between game and the yips, and Travis having a poor feel for the game and getting killed on D). Hopefully he lives up to the hype (and the contract) it seems like forever since we've actually had a really good sixth man or at least a really good sixth man that didn't have some major warts.
How many minutes will he play and who will he take them away from the most? Webster and Batum each played 25 minutes last year. Last year: Bayless - 18 Batum - 25 Fernandez - 23 Roy - 37 Miller - 26 Webster - 25 Total - 154 (For positions 1-3 with 48 minutes per position its 144, the number is larger because of injuries)
I think Tooty Fuity Fresh and Rudy will see the sharpest decline in minutes, assuming he isn't traded before the start of the season. If Nate goes with an 8 man rotation (something he's intimated in interviews) I could see a minutes split in the backcourt go something like this: Miller (28)/ Bayless (20) Roy (35)/ Matthews (13) Batum (32)/ Matthews (16)
Somethings telling me some teams are going to be kicking themselves for not offering up a little more for ol' Rudy toody fresh and fruity.
