No.
That’s the answer to everyone that woke up this morning asking if Wesley Matthews‘ ruptured Achilles tendon last night was some sort of terrible dream.
In the opening minutes of the third quarter in what had been a relatively uneventful game against the Dallas Mavericks, Matthews caught a pass and attempted to drive toward the basket just as he had hundreds of times this season. Fans expected him to either attack the hoop or penetrate the Dallas defense and pass to Nicolas Batum on the opposite wing for an open three-point attempt like we’d seen all year.
Instead Matthews’ left foot gave out and we watched as the proverbial heart of Portland’s team lay motionless on the court, causing immediate silence to fall over the Moda Center. We all knew what we had just seen, but somehow hoped it wasn’t true. That some way, Matthews would get up under his own power and walk off, only to return to the floor like we have seen countless times during his tenure as a Blazer.
As fans, our minds raced to the well-recited list of important Blazers to have their careers interrupted at the worst possible time. We’ve watched as Brandon Roy carried the Blazers past the Dallas Mavericks during Game 4 of the 2011 Playoffs, only to see his ailing knees force him to walk away from the game before the start of the next season. We stood by as Greg Oden teased us for the better part of five seasons with what could have been Portland’s version of the “Big 3”. If we go even further back we bring into discussion names such as Sam Bowie and Bill Walton.
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Yet as we mourn the loss of our “Iron Man” for the remainder of what was beginning to look like a dream season in the Rose City, we must keep in mind the moves that President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey has made knowing that something like this could very well happen to anyone at anytime. As was reported this afternoon the Blazers will not sign free agent Ray Allen, meaning that the importance of the newly added Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee will become magnified over the course of the next six weeks.
It is difficult to imagine that Portland’s season will be the same without Matthews, as is the case anytime a team’s best two-way player is taken out of the line-up. However; given that Afflalo was essentially a sixth starter on the Blazers’ roster, it is a much easier pill to swallow than if the trade with Denver hadn’t been made.
Without question, Matthews will continue to be the heart and soul of this team, even if doing so only from a distance. But the feelings both inside the Moda Center locker room and around the city of Portland won’t be nearly what they were before last night’s game. One cut made too quickly and just like that, nothing was the same.