Wesley Matthews is becoming a liability for the Dallas Mavericks

Wesley Matthews, long considered an asset, is fast becoming a liability for the Dallas Mavericks. Can this be corrected?

Last night the Dallas Mavericks lost to the struggling L.A. Lakers thanks in large part to an ill-timed Wesley Matthews foul that led to game-winning (losing?) free throws. This needlessly aggressive and ultimately decisive play illustrates Matthews season – he’s costing the Mavs games.

It’s not that Wes is a bad player. He’s actually a pretty darn good player. It’s just he’s trying to fill a role he’s not optimally equipped for anymore…

Old Days

When the Mavs first signed Wesley Matthews in the summer of 2015, the team looked considerably different than it looks today.

In Wesley’s first season, the Mavs roster looked like this: Dirk Nowitzki (of course), Chandler Parsons, J.J. Barea, Devin Harris, JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia, Dwight Powell, Deron Williams, Charlie Villanueva, and Justin Anderson.

On that 42-40 team, Wes was one of the youngerbetter players on the roster. After DeAndre Jordan famously spurned the Mavs that summer, Matthews became Dallas’ premiere free agent get.

You’ll also probably notice, Matthews was one of the younger players on roster. Dirk, Deron, Zaza, J.J., Devin, and David Lee were all longer in the tooth. Only Justin Anderson and Chandler Parsons were younger players (of those with potentially higher-upside). Wes, recovering from an Achilles injury, was one of the only players actually in his prime so it’s no wonder why the team leaned on him the past couple seasons.

Today

Today the Dallas Mavericks look considerably different. The new nucleus of the team is rookie Luka Doncic and second year guard Dennis Smith Jr. Everything, EVERYTHING, revolves around those two players…or at least they should.

Instead of taking the backseat to the aforementioned nucleus, Wesley Matthews is leading the charge (not so successfully, I might add). With a usage rate of 22.1 percent, Matthews is inexplicably trending a career high.

Not only that but he’s currently averaging over 15 field goal attempts per game (career high) and over eight 3-point attempts per game (also a career high). To put it bluntly, too many balls are funneling through Wesley Matthews.

It’s hard to think of any reason Matthews should be involved in a play at the expense of Luka. If Doncic is on the bench, so be it, but if the rookie is on the court, he must be involved. Luka has proven to be that important to the offense.

Fix this

At 2-6 it’s imperative the Dallas Mavericks fix this ASAP. They can’t afford to have Matthews volume shooting low percentage shots when they have an offensive savant in Doncic and an explosive weapon in DSJ wasting away in the corner.

It’s time for Wesley Matthews to fill that 3-and-D role he seemed to perfect back in Portland. The Mavs just don’t need to run the offense through him anymore.

Look, Wes will never live up to that contract Mark Cuban gave him, but MFFL don’t expect him to or need him to. What Mavs fans want is Wes to play a complimentary role to Luka and DSJ. That means handle the ball less, shoot the ball less, and focus on defense and seizing open opportunities.

Matthews’ poor play in the loss to the Lakers isn’t a trend but it’s the final straw to many fans who have stubbornly supported him this season.

dark. Next. Can Dallas finish second in the division?

Wesley Matthews is a great locker room presence and an important perimeter defender, but his offensive play is overshadowing everything else, all while bogging down the scoring and stunting the growth of the nucleus.

Published on 11/01/2018 at 12:32 PM
Last updated at 11/01/2018 at 12:32 PM

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