The jabs and jokes flowed as often as jumpers did for Wesley Matthews during the offseason. They said he had changed. They said he had lost his edge. They said he didn’t have the same fire, the same passion, the same pent up Little Man Disease he had when he defied odds and became an NBA starter as a rookie even though he went undrafted out of college. And worst of all, the bashing came not from his critics or his competitors, but from his friends. “My boys spent the whole summer (ticking) me off,” Matthews said, smirking, as he recalled the abuse. “They kept telling me I wasn’t playing like I did when I first came out of college, that I wasn’t fighting like I did when I was in Utah. They kept telling me I changed. I know they didn’t mean it, but they kept saying it. And it (ticked) me off.” It doesn’t take much to motivate the Trail Blazers’ starting shooting guard. If Matthews doesn’t enter a season mad at something — or somebody — something’s wrong. As an undrafted rookie, he had to fight for a spot on an NBA roster. The next season, he had to justify a 5-year, $34 million free agent contract with the Blazers. Then he had to prove he was a starter. It’s never-ending. And now, as he enters his fifth NBA season as an established veteran leader, Matthews doesn’t have to dig very deep for his newest layer of inspiration. ••• It all started a short drive outside Madison, Wis. on a 5-acre plot of land Matthews calls home. He built what he sheepishly calls a “colossal” house on that sprawling plot of land, and it’s an NBA player’s dream, featuring not only a workout facility but also a full basketball court — complete with two hoops and regulation NBA three-point lines. The house was finished less than a year ago and Matthews spent most of last summer there, training for the 2013-14 season. Every now and then he’d invite his friends for a visit — many of them play professional basketball overseas — and they would descend to his house and join him for workouts and pick-up games. It was during one of these games when the taunts started. “We were playing pick-up and stuff, against each other, and I missed a shot and just walked it off,” Matthews said. “They were like, ‘The old you wouldn’t have walked that shot off. The old you would have thrown the ball into the wall or something.’” Matthews, who is prone to dish out his fair share of trash talk, laughed it off. But his friends knew they were on to something, so they persisted. Even after they left Matthews’ house, they continued piling it on with text messages and emails and phone calls. One day a friend texted Matthews out of the blue: “You see what they ranked you on (NBA) 2K14?” Matthews said, referring to the popular NBA video game. “I was like, ‘No, what did they rank me?’ He said, ‘Man, they have you at 78.’” Matthews chuckled. But he wouldn’t laugh for long. Another message from another friend set his skin on fire. ESPN had released its top-to-bottom rankings of NBA players and slotted Matthews 130th, behind players such as JJ Hickson (127), Lou Williams (120) and — gasp — Raymond Felton (108). “When they showed me the ESPN rankings, that (stuff) really (ticked) me off,” Matthews said. “My friends already got me excited coming into the season with their stuff. I was already ready to get back to having that extreme hunger, like famine, like the you-haven’t-eaten-in-weeks hunger. But when the ESPN rankings came out? That was crazy. That’s just disrespectful. But, you know what, whatever. I’ve never been given the benefit of the doubt yet, so why should it start now?” ••• Besides, when it comes down to it, the taunts of friends and the slights of video game makers and rankings creators pale in comparison to what Matthews puts himself through. His inner drive is enough. Matthews entered the 2012-13 season pledging to expand his game beyond the hustling, three-point shooting and sturdy defense he was known for. With a new coach and a new system, Matthews was ready to take on new responsibilities, and he was eager to become a player who could facilitate and create out of pick-and-roll sets, run in transition and score with midrange jumpers and driving layups, in addition to three-pointers. And for a long stretch, Matthews was backing up his pledge and enjoying a career season in coach Terry Stotts’ “flow” offense. But then he heard a pop in his left hip during a game on December 8 and his season would never be the same. He sat out the first game of his NBA career two nights later — ending a streak of 250 consecutive-games played — and would miss 12 more as hip, ankle and elbow injuries stalled his ascent. Healthy and hopeful, Matthews enters this season with the same don’t-shoehorn-me mindset he did last season. After all the injuries, he decided to allow himself extra rest and recuperation over the summer and he refocused his offseason training. Instead of adding bulk and build, he focused on his core and creating better body balance. He also shifted his mindset. It would be impossible for Matthews to completely ditch his go-all-out temperament, but he said he will be “smarter” in the way he plays, the way he trains and the way he flails his body around the court. “I’m always going to work hard,” he said. “But I’d like to say that I’m a lot smarter than I was. I would do a lot of aimless, reckless stuff, just for the sake of doing it. I’m a lot more intelligent. I know the game better, so I don’t have to do a lot of that stuff. I’m going to get back to that dog, gritty, attack the basket, and use everything that I did this offseason.” Which leads back to NBA 2K14. In those video games, when it relays Matthews’ offensive strengths, he says it only “has a three-ball under my name.” And he’s sick and tired of carrying the label of simply being a three-point shooting specialist. Before those injuries last season, he had shown offensive growth, and he wants to continue that evolution. When his friends weren’t taunting him over the summer, Matthews was working on his ballhandling, his change of direction, his ability to finish at the rim, his pick-and-roll game. At one point, assistant coach Nate Tibbetts visited Matthews’ Madison home and the two spent a week laying the foundation for Matthews’ expansion. No one is suggesting Matthews is suddenly going to become as creative and slick as Damian Lillard is at navigating the pick-and-roll. But Matthews insists he’s not a long-range specialist. “He’s so competitive,” Tibbett said. “And when you’re a competitor, you never want to be told you can’t do something, or be labeled. So he’s always going to try to expand his game. He turned 27 (Monday), so he’s still young and he can still get better in a lot of areas. He may have been in more pick-and-rolls last year than he had the three previous years, and if you were to ask him, he probably feels a lot more comfortable in the offense and what he’s asked to do — coming off flares and coming off side pick-and-rolls. He’s never going to be a guy who goes between the legs and then crosses and get fancy. He’s more of a straight-line type of guy. And if he can make good decisions out of those situations, he’s going to be real successful.” The debut of Matthews’ expanded game — the Blazers’ first two exhibition outings — were rocky. He made just 2 of 15 shots and scored 10 points and the Blazers’ offense was erratic and sloppy. But the first practice after the Blazers’ second outing, a 104-98 loss to the Phoenix Suns, Matthews arrived at practice more than an hour early and went through a 45 minute workout session with Tibbetts. Has Matthews lost his edge? Has he changed? Ha. Before the Blazers’ first exhibition game, just as he was set to go through his pregame warmup, Matthews walked up to a reporter sitting courtside and snatched his notebook and pen. With a determined look on his face, Matthews scribbled a lyric from a song by hip-hop artist Big Sean that simultaneously summarizes his mantra this season and silences those taunts from his buddies. “Never changed. Just the new version of the old me.” --Joe Freeman http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...ers_wesley_matthews_never_changed_just_t.html
Perhaps it's just me, but this is exactly what I don't want to hear out of Matthews. I'm of the opinion 40%+ 3 point shooting, lockdown perimeter D, and overall hustle are exactly what I want from my starting 2 guard. If any of his game expansion detracts from any of these aspects, then I see it as a net negative.
By expanding his game it will cause defenders to back off of him more and thus it will give him easier looks at 3's. Being thought of as only a 3pt shooter makes him easier to defend.
Matthews is saying all the right things and reality is at 27 he needs to rely on more than hustle as the younger players will be able to match his hustle at this stage in his career. Doesn't make sense though that if he has all this renewed passion he would come out as flat as he did in the first 2 preseason games. This is the first time in Matthews Blazer career I thought he was out of shape on the court. Maybe he is smarter in that he isn't going to burn much of his tank in preseason. But I'm wondering if age is catching up to a a player who relies of his hustle and defensive tenacity. Not over the hill, but has Matthews hit and now a slightly past his prime or is he still improving?
Remember. he spent much of the summer rehabbing from surgery so his whole approach to fitness was different this year...
Wes has always reminded me of Mario Elie. Speaking of Elie what ever happened to him? I always thought he would have gotten into coaching.
I personally don't care about him being harder to defend. I'm more concerned about our team being difficult to defend. Matthews as a dead-eye 3-point specialist is of more value to our team as currently constructed than Matthews as a mediocre ball-handling penetrator. Plus, I can name several players thought of as only 3pt shooters that were by no means easy to defend. Further, Matthews' energy and effort are of vastly more value when expended on the defensive end of the court than on the offensive. We have enough shot-creators in our backcourt; what we need are players who can create stops. If Matthews can be the defensive stud we need and round out his offensive game, then great. But if the two are mutually exclusive (which I suspect, since he is not a superstar talent), I want the defense and energy guy.
I just want Mathews to play within himself and stay healthy. He's hurt himself more than once trying to do too much. Happy Birthday to the Iron Man!
