How Good Is Trail Blazers Guard Arron Afflalo?

The Portland Trail Blazers are in a bit of a weird situation in the NBA‘s Western Conference. Currently on pace to win their division and finish among the four top teams in the conference, they may not be as good as their record indicates anymore.

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This isn’t exactly their fault in terms of their play on the court. The Blazers have been phenomenal this season on both ends of the floor, really making strides to improve their defense and bring it close to how prolific they can be scoring the basketball on offense.

However, the offense is likely to slow down a few ticks, as guard Wesley Matthews has now been sidelined for the season due to injury.

Without Matthews, the Blazers have a long road ahead of them, as he really emerged as one of the team’s most important players on both ends of the floor. Matthews was always an underrated talent on defense, but offensively, Matthews was on pace to finish in the top-five in the league in made three-pointers.

Having a consistent weapon like that on offense stretches the floor and gives star players Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge more room to work with, and less attention to have to deal with.

Matthews was really starting to take some pressure off of Portland’s other stars because of his off-ball movement. He’s learned how to distance himself from the defense and get to open spots on the floor for a spot-up shot just like other great shooters like Kyle Korver and Ray Allen. This has separated him from a lot of other NBA shooters because he isn’t limited to just standing in the corner and waiting for a shot opportunity.

Not only that, but Matthews was also beginning to show some ball-handling skill, as there were a number of times he elected to take his man off the dribble and finish around the rim. His transformation into a more complete offensive player helped the Blazers make a lot of noise in a crowded West, and his production will surely be missed.

With that being said, the season must go on, and the next guy has to step up and take his place. That player will be guard Arron Afflalo.

Afflalo was acquired in a trade at the deadline from the Denver Nuggets, a move that at the time was viewed as brilliant by many analysts because of the impact he could have on Portland’s bench. The Blazers have one of the worst benches in the league, and a player like Afflalo would’ve provided a huge boost to the second unit.

Now Afflalo will be tasked with starting as he did the majority of the time for his last two teams in the Nuggets and the Orlando Magic. But is he good enough to replace Matthews for a playoff run?

Afflalo is no slouch to scoring the basketball for one. Last season, he averaged 18.2 points per game on 45.9 percent shooting, a mark that indicates he doesn’t take a lot of bad shots, and he really doesn’t.

When going back and watching the tape, Afflalo doesn’t force a lot of shots that aren’t there. He plays within the flow of the offense, and isn’t afraid to give up the ball to a teammate for a better look than what he has.

Afflalo’s unselfishness will at least be welcomed in the Blazers’ starting lineup, as there are already enough shot-makers present in Lillard and Aldridge. With that being said, that doesn’t mean that Afflalo won’t get any shot attempts.

Rather, he should be able to get the same number of touches Matthews was getting because he too is a natural shooter from deep. His 38.6 percent career mark from three shows that he knows how to knock down distance shots when called upon, something the Blazers will try to exploit as much as possible in order to create as much space as they can just like they did with Matthews.

Afflalo has had bright spots in his career on offense, but he’s never quite gotten to the defensive level that some predicted he might get to. He’s not a bad defender per se, but it seems that he still has trouble reading what the offense is doing both in front of him and behind him. Some of that isn’t his fault, as teammates need to communicate on screens and ball switches, but more often than not Afflalo has gotten caught on defense when he shouldn’t have.

He won’t replace Matthews on the defensive end because he doesn’t have the same kind of size, lateral quickness and IQ like Matthews had. Afflalo can be looked at to put points on the board, but time will tell whether Blazers head coach Terry Stotts can hide him enough on defense to keep the team humming at an effective rate.

Afflalo is a quality shooting guard and deserves a spot in NBA rotations, but whether he can give the Blazers enough with Matthews out of the lineup truly remains to be seen.

How good is he? Above average as a player, but he’s no rising star like Matthews. Portland will have to get more out of everyone if they expect to still contend, not just Afflalo.

*Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.

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