The Portland Trail Blazers were one of the best stories of the 2013-2014 season. They earned the fifth seed in the Western Conference and defeated the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs.
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Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders credits swingman Wesley Matthews as a big reason for the Trail Blazers’ success.
"Matthews is also an underrated defender. While he may not be a lock-down defender like Tony Allen, he is a tough competitor and takes each defensive assignment as a personal challenge. And while Matthews stands at just 6’5, he is strong enough to switch onto small forwards and hold his own periodically.Matthews may not be the flashiest shooting guard in the NBA, but he is rock solid and is a big reason why the Portland Trailblazers were one of the surprise teams of last season."
The Trail Blazers have to re-sign power forward LaMarcus Aldridge following the season and will soon have to find the money to re-sign point guard Damian Lillard as well. That doesn’t leave much room to sign free agency and upgrade the team. That means they’ll have to look for internal upgrades like the improvement of Matthews.
Matthews averaged 16.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 44.1% from the field, 39.3% from beyond the arc and 83.7% from the free throw line. In his five-year NBA career, Matthews has put up 14.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 44.2% from the floor, 39.4% from three and 83.5% from the foul line.
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