Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews was known as one of the toughest, most durable players in the NBA, with consecutive-games streaks of 250 and 142 over his six-year career. But that latest streak ended Thursday night when he ruptured his Achilles’ tendon in the third quarter of the Blazers’ win over the Dallas Mavericks. Matthews will miss the rest of the season.
As you can see, Matthews’s injury wasn’t caused by much more than bad luck. He appeared to take a bad step after receiving a pass on a break-out.
The injury will have a twofold effect on Portland’s chances in the tight Western Conference race — the Blazers have won five straight and are third in the conference standings but are only 2.5 games ahead of sixth-place Dallas and four games ahead of seventh-place San Antonio — and Matthews’s value on the free agent market this summer — he’s averaging 15.9 points and shooting 38.8 percent on three-pointers in nearly 34 minutes per game this season.
The Oregonian’s Jason Quick summed up what Matthews meant to the Blazers:
He doesn’t just make three-pointers with the best of them. He makes this team.
He has an unbelievably positive attitude. Sometimes, I believe, he wills the Blazers out of slumps with his sheer belief that the Blazers are the best team in the West.
He holds teammates accountable, willing to call them out if he sees an effort, or an attitude, not meet his standards.
And he sets an admirable example with his tireless and determined work ethic. I’ve seen some great, hard-working professionals put on a Blazers uniform – Scottie Pippen, Joel Przybilla and Roy among them – and none of them outwork Matthews.
Few throughout the years have been as banged up as Matthews. He once played the last half of the season on an ankle the size of a grapefruit, waiting until after the season to have surgery. His elbow has been battered. His side has been bruised. And this season, he famously hyperextended his knee — elicting gasps from the Moda Center crowd — only to return later in the game, bringing a chuckle to coach Terry Stotts on the sideline.
Wesley Matthews is, quite frankly, the heart and soul of the Blazers.
Per Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Achilles’ injuries usually require eight to nine months of rehabilitation, meaning Matthews likely won’t be back until after next season begins.
After spending the first 17 years of his Post career writing and editing, Matt and the printed paper had an amicable divorce in 2014. He's now blogging and editing for the Early Lead and the Post's other Web-based products.
No comments:
Post a Comment