I've always been a huge Wes guy. But his play has been ridiculous this year. 55% shooting out of your 2 guard, 50% from downtown and good for the best ORtg in the entire NBA. Along with the great defense. We've had great play out of all our guys. But IMO Wes is the straw that stirs the drink. A better slasher this year, always great energy, dead aim shooting and gritty. We got our X-factor. I remember when folks around here poo-poo'ed his free agent signing. I'd say we can sign good free agents in this small market.
Wes' confidence right now is second to none! I think thats a big part of it. His basket is the size of your head, which everybody knows how big that is! ha
I've never seen him walk through a wall, but he seems to defy all logic, so maybe he is proof that ghosts do exist? Good call Zags.
his shooting has obviously been incredible. What I like the most is he has seemed to improve his ball handling/slashing ability, and also has improved on his play in the post a ton.
His updated shot chart on NBA.com has him shooting 46% or better from each of the 5 spots on the courts outside the arc. 11/16 from the right corner (68.75%)
I have been all over the place with Wes. I was one of the few pimping him before we signed him. But I wanted him as a back up to Brandon. I have always liked him but never thought him as starting material based on his lack of ball handling skills, average mid range game, and limited ability to attack the basket. But he has improved in all those aspects. I do not think this is a aberration. I think he has simply improved the other parts of his game to go with his 3 pt shooting. He always played solid D. The only thing that could hold him back is his style of play seems like it will wear on his body by the end of every season. I love a healthy Wes
I've been waiting for more posts pimping Wes. He's having a very solid season 20 games in. He's been a huge part of by we're 17-3. I remember a lot of people here pooping on him before the season and in preseason. Of course, most of those people are the same people crapping on our solid start.
SG seemed to be the position, outside of C, that so many seemed to be calling on us to improve, somehow seeing Wes best off the bench, or used in trade to improve C and/or SG. I never quite understood that.
If by "aberration" you mean, better than 99.999999999% of the humans on this planet at draining 3's, I'd say yes, he's definitely an aberration.
What's interesting is that most of you kept telling him to stop doing the things he's doing well these days (slashing/going to the rim). He was never content on just being a 3pt/defense guy and I'm glad he's put in the work to be as good as he is now. This would've never happened if he didn't make all those mistakes the past few years. Yes he's shooting a scorching rate at the 3pt line, but his dependable work in the paint and the mid-range have been HUGE. I no longer consider him a one-dimensional player
I think I'd actually rather have Wes on this team than Brandon Roy in his prime. (as Wes has played so far this year anyway). Brandon's one on one offensive game would have really held this team back.
The great thing with Wes is that he doesn't need the rock in his hands a lot and doesn't need a lot of shots. With defenses focusing in on Lillard and Aldridge it lets Matthews able to create more shots for himself which he's better at this year.
This is code for, "waiting for him to fail." In general, no fan that was high on Wes before the season is waiting for him to "come back down to earth." Fans that don't think he's a starting SG on a contender, or think he's the next guy to get traded most certainly do. Sure there are people in between, but the point is, let's appreciate what he's doing rather than try to explain away with magic and myth why he's killing it right now.
lol okaaaay. I'm as big of a Matthews fan around and have been since we signed him. I'm not eagerly anticipating him to come back down to earth, but its inevitably got to happen right? How many guys shoot 50% from downtown for a whole season. If he keeps it up, I'll be pleased as punch.
Wes' biggest problem is maintaining his health. He's had some very good stretches of basketball in virtually every season with the team, but he ends up hurting himself and his play drops off. He's hurt his hip, he's hurt his ankle, and maybe an achilles... I can't remember, but he tries to play through the pain instead of resting, which hurts his play and he doesn't usually heal until after the season as a result.
Why would it come back down? The majority of his shots are wide open. It's as much a function of the offense, not simply that Matthews is en fuego. When he shoots in rhythm shots all day, and then does the same during the game, it's a wonder he doesn't shoot a higher percentage.
