Play style
At 6’5″, Matthews is naturally the size of a guard, but boasts a 7’0″ wingspan that opens up a wider range of possibilities with his play.
As a somewhat sweeping description of his play, it’s certainly fair to describe Matthews as the prototypical 3-and-D wing. Over the course of his career, Matthews has shown the ability to shoot and score at a level that takes him beyond that description that’s usually reserved for role players, while on the defensive end he’s also a lot more versatile than simply picking up 2s and 3s.
In addition to his long arms, Matthews possesses a remarkably strong and sturdy frame for his size. That combination has allowed Matthews to become something of a featured defender throughout much of his career, as he’s often been tasked with picking up the opposing team’s best player when the game is on the line.
It may be fair to say that he lost some of his lateral quickness and ability to endlessly chase shooters around screens following his achilles injury, but Matthews’ experience has allowed him to place even greater leverage on the physical advantages he does boast.
As was outlined by Sam Guertler of Mavs Moneyball in 2018, Matthews has shown the ability to shut down players of the varied profile of Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook and Kristaps Porzingis, even in the post-prime years of his career following injury. Guertler’s piece placed particular emphasis of Matthews’ defense of Porzingis, where the veteran was able to use his size and intensity to shut down a player almost 10 inches taller than him in the closing stretch of the game.
Similarly, around that same time, Bobby Karalla of Mavs.com took a deep dive into Matthews’ defensive value, illustrating how he’d managed to hold his own against Lillard, Jimmy Butler and the Bucks’ own Giannis Antetokounmpo.
"“After watching [Matthews] scratch, claw, and battle through every possession for two full seasons, I feel comfortable saying there might not be another player in the NBA who so obviously tries as hard as he does on defense. It’s not always pretty (defense never is), but if you really pay attention, it’s easy to appreciate.”"
Matthews’ defensive intensity has been a constant throughout his NBA career, and in reality it was what also got him into the league in the first place. As Matthews tells it, it’s a mind-set he held from much earlier, as his mother offered him advice on how he could realize his college basketball dreams when he was six years old.
"“My mom said the best way to get seen is to guard the other team’s best player, because all the college coaches are watching him. They had to see, ‘Dang, so-and-so had only five points. Who’s guarding him?'”"
Matthews took that sentiment on board and allowed it to become his identity as a player. With that, he’s also inherited the kind of chip on the shoulder that can also be a common feature for the best defensive players.
"“It’s an offensive league. We know that. At the end of the day, even if it takes somebody 28 shots to get their 30 or 40 points, on the ticker, it says 40 points. It doesn’t say 15 missed shots, six turnovers, three bad passes. It doesn’t show that. That’s not what sells. Yeah, defense is what wins games. But it doesn’t sell. I don’t think the media does a good job of pumping defensive players.”"
Even at this point in his career, Matthews very much presents as a plus-defender, and should be very useful to the Bucks on that end as a result.
On the opposite side of the floor, Matthews’ primary value and function at almost 33 years old is as a spot-up shooter.
A career 38.2 percent shooter, Matthews is more than capable of delivering meaningful shooting on a team that will create the kind of wide open looks that Giannis’ Bucks can. As my co-site expert Jordan Treske already pointed out, Matthews ranked in the 98th percentile in terms of spot-up scoring last season, while Synergy also highlighted just how deadly Matthews was on open catch-and-shoot looks.
Wesley Matthews shot an eFG% of 61% in catch and shoot situations including 71% when left open last season.
— Synergy Basketball (@SynergySST) July 1, 2019
Matthews’ overall percentages have dropped off somewhat in recent seasons, but that shouldn’t be used as a sign of meaningful overall regression in his shooting. When it comes to the type of shots that Matthews will likely be taking within Milwaukee’s offense, he remains among the best in the NBA.
Matthews may well be Milwaukee’s starting shooting guard next season, and if he is, his play will come under a lot of scrutiny. Just how much he can deliver on a team of the Bucks’ caliber remains to be seen, but there’s plenty of reason to believe Matthews could be a real positive. At the veteran minimum, the deal certainly holds all the potential to be a bargain.