Dallas Mavericks: Wesley Matthews The Key To Competing In West

It’s been a long journey for Wesley Matthews and he’ll serve as one of the keys to success for the Dallas Mavericks next season.

Wesley Matthews‘ career took a turn for the worse against the Dallas Mavericks. The date was March 5, 2015, when Matthews tore his Achilles and went on to miss the rest of the season with the Portland Trail Blazers.

After a disappointing ending to his season, Matthews got ready for free agency, where he would go on to sign a four-year, $70 million max deal with the Mavs, ushering in a new era for his career.

After an impressive recovery for one of the NBA’s toughest players, Matthews found himself playing on opening night alongside Chandler Parsons, who had also undergone major surgery in the spring.

Despite great outings, like his 36-point outburst against the Washington Wizards in December, it was obvious that Matthews was not himself. He wasn’t playing as freely as he had in previous seasons and still looked physically drained at times, as he continued to try to get back to normal.

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After a brutal stretch from the end of February to the beginning of March where Matthews averaged just 7.4 points through eight games, he began to improve.

He started putting together consistent performances and became one of the leading forces for the Mavs as they clinched a spot in the postseason.

The playoffs brought out a vintage side of Matthews. His defensive efforts in the first two games of the series held Kevin Durant to 14-for-48 from the field and helped the Mavs steal Game 2 late.

He put together a 22-point performance in Game 3 and continued his great play throughout the next two contests–which would ultimately be the last two of the season for the Mavs.

Even though an early exit is never desired in the NBA, it was beneficial for Matthews. For the first time in two years, he was able to have a full summer–meaning a full period of recovery.

Assuming Matthews stays healthy throughout training camp and preseason play, he would enter the 2016-17 season at 100 percent.

The Mavs will be looking for all the help they can get next year, as the Western Conference got even tougher, with many playoff teams fine-tuning their rosters.

That’s where Wesley Matthews comes in.

A healthy Matthews means a legitimate defender night in and night out for the Mavs. He served as the team’s best defender last season and he’ll have the same role this season.

Whether it was LeBron James, Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant, Matthews would get the call and would do his best to slow his opponents down.

The Mavs will certainly have an improved defense this season, as Harrison Barnes is an upgrade over Chandler Parsons and Andrew Bogut is an upgrade over Zaza Pachulia, but Matthews is still, by far, the team’s No. 1 defensive option and will get the opportunity to defend opposing superstars.

Just recently, Matthews gave back to kids in the Dallas area by buying them school supplies for the upcoming year. While he was there, he dropped a few interesting quotes for the media.

First, he mentioned that he was healthy and ready to go and talked about how he was “a whole different player” heading into the 2016-17 season.

Next, he spoke about the team, and talked about how it was “deeper” and “more athletic” than before, as the front office added young players like Seth Curry and Quincy Acy to come off of the bench.

Last season, Matthews was the definition of a team player. After tough losses–whether they were blowouts or close games–he was one of the most vocal players in the locker room and often called out certain aspects of their play and mentioned what they needed to do to get better.

Matthews has always had a presence that every team wishes it had both on and off the court. The Mavs will need more of that from him this season as he will come back in the best shape he’s ever been in since his injury.

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While Wesley Matthews is not the only piece the Mavs need to succeed, he’s arguably the most important. The Mavs need his defense and leadership in order to grind through a stacked Western Conference where truly every game impacts the standings.