Indiana Pacers: Evaluating Wesley Matthews’ contributions

Since acquiring Wesley Matthews at the trade deadline, the Indiana Pacers have managed to sustain a solid record but will need more from the veteran guard.

Having recently clinched a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Indiana Pacers’ season has gone much better than many would have expected at the start of the season, especially considering the myriad of injuries that have plagued the team this year. With a lineup that lacks a bit of star-power, the Pacers have made it this far off of sheer grit and the defense-first mindset of head coach Nate McMillan.

But in the remaining nine games of the season, the team has some hurdles to overcome and needs to generate some momentum if they hope to win in the playoffs and potentially claim their first playoff series win since 2014.

They’re in the midst of a four-game losing streak, with no easy wins ahead. Tonight they’ll face the Denver Nuggets at home before heading on a road trip to face the Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics. Needless to say, there’s a very high chance things get a whole lot worse before they get better.

The Pacers still lack an offensive identity and will need shooting and scoring to propel them in the playoffs. Players like Bojan Bogdonavic, Thaddeus Young and Darren Collison have provided somewhat in that department, but one player that has not quite found a groove is veteran small forward Wesley Matthews. Since his acquisition and insertion into the starting lineup over Tyreke Evans on Feb. 11, Matthews is averaging 11.9 points per game on just 39.1 percent shooting from the field, which is less than optimal for a now-struggling Indiana team.

Matthews has, however, been relatively efficient from deep when he shoots more threes. In the seven games with the Pacers where he’s shot more than seven or more threes, he’s shooting 40 percent, or 20-for-50, per Basketball-Reference. It could be a case of more volume equals more success, a formula that Mike D’Antoni and the Houston Rockets employ.

He’s also shooting a stellar 87 percent from the charity stripe with the Pacers, that is when he’s actually at the free throw line. It wouldn’t hurt for Matthews to be more aggressive in this final stretch of the season, because as we saw in their thrilling and most recent victory against the Thunder, it pays off in a big way when it matters most.

The organization seems content with not chasing the superstar free agents in the summertime according to The Washington Post‘s Ben Golliver. But for the remainder of this season, where they lack in star-power and clutch-time scoring, they need more contributions from Matthews and others on the offensive end.

Matthews was supposed to fill a void for the injured Victor Oladipo, and while he’s given bursts of energy to this already-gritty team, there needs to be more unapologetic shooting on his part if the Pacers want to see some wins toward the end of the season and come playoff time.