On Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs, Wesley Matthews set a new season-high with 31 points on 11-18 shooting.
Matthews’ stellar performance comes on the heels of a game against the Memphis Grizzlies in which he went 0-of-7 from the field and only scored four points. In that game, the Blazers blew a 13-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Obviously, the difference between Matthews scoring four points in a game and 31 points in another is a huge difference for the Portland Trail Blazers’ offensive efficiency. However; that’s where this Blazers team is this season. They need Matthews to help carry the scoring load more than ever.
This season, Matthews has played exceedingly well, with nearly identical numbers to the ones he put up last season.
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While Matthews’ statistics don’t immediately reflect substantial growth, I would argue that the Blazers are a more complete offensive team than they were last season, as a whole. There are so many more options on offense than they had last season. But even with all those options, Portland needs Matthews to carry the scoring load and answer when teams take away Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge.
The Spurs are always a tough matchup for Lillard and Aldridge, but you know Lillard and Aldridge are going to give you 20-plus points a piece. That’s pretty much a given, night after night.
If you look around the league, it takes at least three scorers to have a shot at the championship. Look at Cleveland with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love. Look at Atlanta with Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap, and Kyle Korver. Look at Golden State with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and their entire team, basically. Memphis has Marc Gasol, Jeff Green, Zach Randolph, and Mike Conley.
The really good teams have guys who can carry their offense. Portland is getting there, and it is because of Matthews’ intangible improvement from last season. His post game (while previously impressive) is potentially the best of any guard in the league now, and his ability to put the ball on the floor and attack the rim has become legitimately reliable.
Other than the Spurs playing unstoppable basketball in the playoffs last season, the Trail Blazers’ biggest problem was that they didn’t have that strong third option to counter what the Spurs were doing defensively. This season, I’m confident the Blazers have a bona fide, three-man attack and a host of good pieces to work into the offense, like Nicolas Batum, Robin Lopez, Chris Kaman, Arron Afflalo, and Steve Blake.
Matthews won’t put up 30-plus every night, but if he keeps getting 15-20 points, even the occasional 25, while scoring in a variety of ways, the Blazers will take scoring versatility into the playoffs that they have missed in previous post-seasons. Portland can make it to the NBA Finals. That’s realistic.
I hate to say that, because I’m SUPERstitious about the Blazers, but that’s how good they looked on Wednesday night when Matthews was clicking. It didn’t matter that no other Blazer cracked 20 points, or that Aldridge shot 5-19; the Blazers’ were in control nearly start to finish as Matthews took the reins.