Q&A With Wesley Matthews (Blazers.com)

Good read with Mathews.

over 1 year ago jnewhouse 16 comments 0 recs |

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Lance Uppercut FTW!

by Storyteller on Sep 10, 2010 2:28 PM PDT reply actions

So Wesley Matthew's mom was a replicant?

I kid, good job guy! Taking care of mom like that, this is a classy guy, you just gotta respeck that.

by twggyy on Sep 10, 2010 2:35 PM PDT reply actions

This guy is going to quickly become a fan favorite.

by LaughingJon on Sep 10, 2010 3:05 PM PDT reply actions

Nice article

Too bad Nate’s gonna let him rot on the bench and play inferior talent ahead of him. That’s Nate’s MO for sure.

My ideal man would be Italian, dark, muscles, juice-head, guido.

by tominhawaii on Sep 10, 2010 3:12 PM PDT reply actions

Nate's favorite word....

Describes Wesley to a T.

Scrappy

I have no doubt Nate is going to love this guy.

by EagGolfer3 on Sep 10, 2010 3:18 PM PDT up reply actions

He's a Nate guy. That's why we went after him so hard.

I really like the way he is talking about Brandon. He’s not looking at him as someone in his way, but someone to learn from and someone to fit in with. It think Brandon is going to love playing with this guy.

"You're not too smart, are you? I like that in a man." - Matty Walker in Body Heat (1981)

by BlazerFanSince1970 on Sep 10, 2010 3:25 PM PDT reply actions

You go out there, play hard, play tough, play as a team and everything else will fall into place

Old school. Jerry Sloan. Nate McMillian. I hope the “leadership attitude” rubs off on a few of the starters

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Sep 10, 2010 3:29 PM PDT reply actions

Going through tons of footage on Wesley on Synergy....

I think I have a firm grasp on what this guy is going to bring to this team.

Offensively:

- Above average spot shooter. Has trouble shooting of the dribble, or on the move coming off a screen.

- Run’s the lane HARD. Always looking for transition opportunities. (I think this is part of the reason he is statistically a below average rebounder.)

- Very aggressive attacking gaps in the defense. Only a decent finisher though as he lacks ideal size and athleticism.

-Very comfortable in the post (Played some 4 in college on a small Marquette team). If they stick an undersized 2 on him, Portland needs to exploit that match-up.

- Is not viable iso or pnr option. Has pretty bad handles (worse than Martell’s) and is not a shooter on the move with his awkward shooting mechanics. Becomes quite turnover prone when put into these situations as well.

- Smart passer, but not a great one. Has trouble with entry passes (tends to throw the pass before post player has good position).

Defensively:

- Great defensive instincts. Really has a nose for the ball.

- Quick hands. Creates a lot of deflections.

- Deals well with screens. Has the strength and awareness to position himself and fight over both on and off-ball screens. Has the quickness to recover if he decides to go under them.

- Physical and pesky. He doesn’t have the ideal size or athleticism to be a lockdown defender, so he uses his upper body strength and quick hands to get into people and frustrate them.

- Has trouble guarding in the post. He has good strength, but has trouble contesting shots due to his physical limitations.

by EagGolfer3 on Sep 10, 2010 3:56 PM PDT reply actions 5 recs

good stuff

rec

Is synergy a free site or is there a registration cost?

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Sep 10, 2010 5:49 PM PDT up reply actions

They released a dumbed down fan version right around last years playoffs...

Great tool for NBA Junkies.

http://mysynergysports.com/

Problem is all subscriptions end Sept. 30, and they haven’t released any news that I know of about it being available for next season.

Paid 30 bucks for it, and I don’t see a reduced price being advertised anywhere.

by EagGolfer3 on Sep 10, 2010 6:11 PM PDT up reply actions

thanks

I may have an interest in this next offseason, to satisfy my basketball Jones

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Sep 11, 2010 10:51 AM PDT up reply actions

leader?

I like the guy. I think I am going to like the player. But geez am I tired of the word “leader.” I think he’s talking about leading by example, which I am down with. But just be a good teammate and play hard. No need to try and package that into a wildly overused term that has been stretched to the point of meaninglessness.

by cantdunk on Sep 10, 2010 9:39 PM PDT reply actions

communication and sharing the tribal knowledge that he has learned

I think this is what Wesley was talking about

The young Blazer players can use veteran leadership, the kind that Juwan Howard provided last season. Obviously, some of this will come from the coaching staff, and you don’t want to add an old player to the roster who can’t play well, anymore. But if look down the rosters of past NBA champions, there are usually role players in their mid-30s who have been through the playoff wars and can advise the 20 year-olds what to expect, and how to react to intense situations.

I’ll know the Blazers are really serious to compete for the finals when I start seeing them acquire a few of these long-in-the-tooth leaders (instead of back-filling the 15 man roster with 3 more rookies, every offseason) The old guys won’t need to play long minutes during the regular season, but they’ll be around in May to constantly remind (and demonstrate) to the kids what kind of commitment it takes to advance in the post season

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Sep 11, 2010 11:03 AM PDT up reply actions

But he was a rookie last year

I’m all for communication and sharing. I’m sure he’s got something to contribute in that regard. But the word “leader” is the wrong word for that. I know it doesn’t matter. It’s become a pet peeve for me. And I don’t approve of peeves as pets. I should probably just drop it, but it strikes me as ridiculous when a a player with one year as a role player under his belt comes to a new team and starts talking about being a leader? Every player on our team trots that word out given half a chance. I don’t know who to blame? The media? Society? KP? Nate? Casey? Somebody is pushing that word.

by cantdunk on Sep 12, 2010 7:35 PM PDT up reply actions

Wesley can be a leader to the rookies, as well as Cunningham and Pendergraph

and he’s made it further into the postseason than any Blazer except Camby

In general with sports, saying you’re a leader means nothing. If other players follow you? You’re a leader. It’s not the age, it’s the gravitas. Magic Johnson was already a leader on the L*kers team when he was a rookie. Johnny Unitas was the same way with the Colts, back in the day.

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Sep 12, 2010 8:16 PM PDT up reply actions