This blog post over at ripcityproject.com really got me to thinking about Matthews and how little attention he seems to be getting from not only the local Blazers media but also fans -- we're just not talking about this guy much. http://ripcityproject.com/2010/09/1...ws/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter So what do we expect? A sophomore slump, Bruce Bowen 2.0, a "nice" player but nothing special?
I remember seeing him last year and wondering, "Who is this guy"? He just seemed so poised and smooth and hardworking. He is a bit of a junkyard, workhorse type of player, but he also has skill. He will probably be backing up the SG and SF position quite a bit this year and will probably be featured in almost every 3 guard lineup we go with. He will get time. Trust me. Nate will love him. With those minutes, here are my expectations: 12 ppg 2.8 rpg 1.8 apg 1 stl .400 3p% .490 FG% Couple that with "glue guy" teamwork and diligent defense and you have a really awesome addition to our team. He is not going to be some superstar. But he is going to make our team better.
Here's my scouting report on Wes from a post over at BlazersEdge... My statistical predictions: In roughly 25mpg... 8ppg (ts% 57), 3rpg, .7 ast, 1spg, .2bpg w/ good defense. Thought we overpaid, but I like the addition regardless.
Scott Zachary tonight mentioned that he thought Matthews would be our Junk Yard dog this year. We've definitely been lacking a physical presence on the perimeter since....Udoka?, so I agree with the 10ppg mark as his biggest impact will be letting Brandon Roy spend more energy on the offensive end.
Put me down for that one. I think he'll be a useful and worthwhile member of the rotation, but no game-changer or "core" player. "Championship-caliber depth" so to speak.
Just so. Hedo was going to be a MUCH bigger acquisition than Mathews... Wesley is a MLE player, and MLE players tend to be rotation guys but are not often anything special. Mathews will hopefully be a guy who can play a couple of positions and work with our star-level players when he comes off the bench. Ed O.
It's a great question, Ed. It seems to me he would compliment Batum better than Roy as they seem to be similar type players. As far as my expectations, I hope he plays solid ball behind Roy and doesn't impede Cunningham's growth by stealing too many minutes at SF.
I expect he'll ask to be traded within a year due to limited PT and no chance to start. Being grossly overpaid will hamper that severely. IMO, thankfully, his game is nothing like Bowen's, who relies on cheating and deliberately injuring players to cover his glaring weaknesses.
It's an MLE. Even as he is today, he's not "grossly" overpaid. If he improves at all, he probably won't be overpaid by any significant amount. And if he actually breaks out to a much higher performance level, he could even be a bargain. That isn't the way I'd bet, but it's a possibility.
Actually, I hope he and Batum are used by Nate in the same way DEFENSIVELY as Jordan and Pippen were used: One of the two in the game at all times guarding the other teams swingman (or even PG). When they're both in the game, use an "escort pressure" press (Phil Jax words) to burn time off the 24 sec. clock.
I'd expect to see him, in his second year in the NBA, to become the team's best perimeter defender and best shooter off the bench. So basically Steve Kerr crossed with Stacey Augmon. (Or how Martel was supposed to be.) Is that asking too much?
25 mpg 7 points 3 rebs 2 assists I think his value to us this year won't be measured in stats. Similar to Nic.
