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Can Portland Trail Blazers Still Win Title Without Wesley Matthews?

By Nathan Grubel

Mar 5, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews (2) grimaces in pain in the third quarter against Dallas Mavericks at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews (2) grimaces in pain in the third quarter against Dallas Mavericks at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports /
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When Wesley Matthews was ruled out for the rest of the season due to a torn Achilles tendon, many threw out the Portland Trail Blazers as contenders.

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Matthews has certainly meant a lot to Portland’s success, as he’s averaged 15.9 points per game on 44.8 percent shooting including 38.9 percent from three-point range. He’s helped to spread the floor for forward LaMarcus Aldridge and helped to draw the defense away from point guard Damian Lillard.

Not only has his offense meant a lot to the Trail Blazers’ winning efforts, but his defense combined with that of fellow wing player Nicolas Batum have kept Portland in a lot of games that they potentially wouldn’t have won without tight defensive play late.

Matthews has been a key to Portland’s improvement on both ends of the floor, and he was even being looked at as the third member to a potential big three along with Aldridge and Lillard.

However, now that he’s out for the year, replacing his impact is going to be difficult for the Blazers to do, especially in the postseason.

The Western Conference is as deep as it’s ever been, and there are some real teams in the East that may have something to say about which is the best squad in the NBA as well.

A healthy Trail Blazers team was on pace to finish third in the conference and as one of the top teams in the league, but without Matthews they’ve given some ground to the Houston Rockets and other teams looking to move up in the standings.

The acquisition of Arron Afflalo couldn’t have been better timed, as he’s been a starter elsewhere but was brought in to primarily be the team’s sixth man to give the wing players some relief along with veterans Chris Kaman and Steve Blake. Now, Afflalo will have to step into the starting lineup and do his best Matthews impersonation if this team wants to still have a shot at a title.

It will be difficult, but can the Blazers find enough production from their starters and bench to replace Matthews?

Afflalo is a capable scorer who can shoot from deep as well as put the ball on the floor and draw fouls near the basket, but he isn’t the same caliber defender as Matthews is. Matthews was guarding the other team’s best player on a nightly basis. Now, one would presume that role is going to be played by Batum going forward.

In terms of bench production, the Blazers already had one of the weaker bench units among contenders in the West before Afflalo’s arrival, and now that he’s been thrown in with the starters, essentially the team goes back to what it was depth wise.

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    • Blake and Kaman are quality bench players, but their production alone isn’t enough to keep the rest of the unit afloat. Guard C.J. McCollum is going to have to play bigger minutes going forward and really help the team with his perimeter shooting and ability to handle the ball.

    As for the starters, Lillard and Aldridge are going to have much more of an offensive burden on their shoulders from here on out. Without Matthews to draw the defensive attention away, they will have to deal with more contested looks, especially in crunch time.

    Their efficiency will no doubt be affected, but if they can continue to draw fouls and get to the line a little more per game, then they may be able to put more points on the board and take steps towards making up for Matthews’ absence.

    Portland has never had crazy depth to really withstand injuries like the San Antonio Spurs. Any kind of blow to their lineup is more magnified than it might be on a deeper team, making the Matthews’ loss devastating to their title chances.

    Winning the championship isn’t completely out of the Blazers’ reach, but the rest of the team is really going to have to step up their game and play out of their minds from here on out. This team still has the star power to get it done, but basketball is a team sport, and it’s going to take more than Lillard and Aldridge to get the job done.

    *Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.

    Next: Can Batum Be Portland's Most Improved Player?

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