Friday, April 17, 2015

Undrafted, Overlooked, Underappreciated, but Irreplaceable

Portland Trailblazer Wesley Matthews by Reggie Liggins





This was shaping up to be a break-out year for Portland's Iron Man, Wessy Wes Matthews. In a
contract year, he the team's defensive stopper, often tasked to guard the opposing team's best scorer. He is among the league leaders in 3-point shooting. He participated in his first All-Star Weekend and though he didn't make the second-round in the 3 point shooting contest, he set a pretty high bar for the rest of the competitors. The Blazers were top 3 in the Western Conference pretty much all season long, and though the team boasts two All-Stars in LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard, Wes Matthews is considered by many to be the heart and soul of the team. 


The Ironman goes down

But then, unfortunately, misfortune struck and Wes went down with a ruptured Achilles tendon. His season was over, and to many, so was the Blazers chances winning a championship this year. Not that it wasn't going to be a tough road to hoe anyway. But it seemed to me that the Blazers struggled more with Wes out of the line-up than they did with LaMarcus out. But a lot of what Wes does, you don't find in the stat sheet.

Wes Matthews plays with an attitude, with that proverbial chip on his shoulder. After all, as he is quick to remind anyone, he was not drafted in the NBA. Every team passed on him. Many in the NBA thought the Blazers were crazy when they acquired him from the Utah Jazz and made him the starting shooting guard...I mean, yeah he was a good defender but not necessarily a good shooter. But they didn't count on his work ethic. 

Nor did they realize how driven he was to prove all of the doubters, as well as the haters, wrong. So every summer he worked his butt off and got better, so much better in fact, that he has become in my mind at least, one of the best shooters in the NBA. He has also developed the ability to get his shot off the bounce. 


 
But surprisingly, when his offense improved he did not take a step back on defense. Yeah, James Harden might drop 40 on him, but James will know he's been in a war and that he had to work his ass off for that 40! Because Wes was right in his chest every step of the way. Wes plays HARD! Balls to the freaking wall HARD! I'm sure he has way more floor burns than anyone else on the team. 


The Fire Within

He never takes a play off. And though he is not even close to being the biggest player on the team, he is it's enforcer. He backs down to no one. The guys on the team knows he's got their backs. What he lacks in natural talent, he makes up for it by simply outworking everybody else. He sets a heckuva example for everyone else to follow. He is the emotional leader of the team. Passionate, driven, and all about winning. Or as I stated earlier, he is the heart and soul of the Blazers.

Wes has played through injuries his entire NBA career, his durability earning him the moniker "Iron Man". Wes once played in 250 consecutive games and up until this latest injury had  missed only 13 games in his six-year career. Jason Quick made note of this in a recent article of his in the Oregonian: "In the 2010-11 season, with his foot numb and swollen, Matthews played the final 48 games with a torn tendon in his right ankle, electing to postpone surgery until after the playoffs. And in the 2012-13 season, he played 25 games after hurting his left elbow in Orlando, finally shutting it down with four games left in the season before having surgery in May." 


The Iron Man

But when he went down with this latest injury, no amount of will power or mental toughness can overcome a torn Achilles. Ask Kobe Bryant (who reached out to Wes after his injury), arguably one of the toughest dudes, along with Allen Iverson, who ever laced up a pair of sneakers. And like Kobe, Wes is taking his recovery and eventual comeback (he calls it the "Re2urn") as a challenge. While some wonder whether he can be as good as he was before the injury, he is challenging himself to be even better. 

Also from Jason Quick's article, Wes says: "My faith. My will. My strength. My toughness ... everything is going to be tested," Matthews said the day before his surgery. "It's internal. It's the challenge of challenges...This isn't a vacation to me. This isn't off time. I'm going to attack when I can attack, like it's a game. Because this is my game now."


#ArrowLife

He is also looking to rejoin the team during their playoff push, but only as a cheerleader and encourager. He won't be able to lead them from the floor, but I'm sure his presence and leadership will be more than welcome. I am hoping Blazer management feels the same way and give the Iron Man what he is worth when his contract expires this summer because Wes has always given the Blazers and his craft everything he has. 

It would be a low down, dirty shame if Wes has played his last game as a Blazer. But no matter what happens with his contract this summer, I will always be a Wes Matthews fan. In the meantime though, I wish him a speedy #re2urn.



Reginald Liggins Sr.
Blazer Fan Extraordinaire




Reggie Sr. and Wes at my kids' school.
See also: http://www.oregonlive.com/ironman/

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