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Jazz: Rookie Matthews fills highlight reel

Wesley Matthews turned in the best performance of an already-storybook rookie season on Monday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

Perhaps a movie-maker at the Sundance Film Festival should take note. This is starting to be pure Hollywood.

Matthews, an undrafted free agent out of Marquette, scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Jazz to a 124-115 comeback victory over Phoenix.

In doing so, Matthews' star was the brightest despite the fact household names like Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer were on the court at the same time.

During a 61/2-minute stretch, when Utah turned a three-point deficit into a 115-109 lead, Matthews scored 10 points, grabbed three rebounds, handed out two assists and came up with two steals.

With the Jazz trying to rally from a 96-79 deficit, coach Jerry Sloan's most logical choice at shooting guard seemed to be veterans Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Miles or Kyle Korver.

Matthews didn't allow it.

"He's a guy that's not afraid," Sloan said. "... That's a huge asset when you play this game, if you've got some toughness."

Said Carlos Boozer, "Wesley was dough, man. ... He can hit shots, attack the basket and play defense. He's a rarity. I'm really proud of him. And he's going to continue to blossom.

Matthews' three-pointer with 7:59 left tied the game, 100-100.

He hit another three-point shot with 4:51 remaining to give Utah a 111-106 lead.

"I was just playing ball -- the same game I've been playing since I was 4 years old," Matthews said. "The fact the coaching staff and the players have confidence in me ... I have to play with confidence. I hurt us if I don't."

Defensively, Matthews intercepted a pass by Nash with 5:36 left. The Jazz converted to take a 108-106 lead.

Less than two minutes later, Matthews knocked the ball away from Goran Dragic. His two free throws gave Utah a 115-109 lead.

"He was in the passing lanes," Sloan said. "He was active. He wasn't just standing out there. Those were huge plays."

Said Matthews: "Just helping each other on defense. I just rotated and was active and was hungry and going after the ball and playing tough."

seejaydeja wrote:I've never seen this much confidence in a Jazz rookie let alone AN UNDRAFTED rookie. This guy is quickly becoming my favorite jazz man. My jaw was literally on the floor during that 6 minute stretch when the guy DID EVERYTHING to get his team in a position to win.

The best was watching him go back to the bench for a timeout after he hit the 3 getting high fives from everyone but a suited up and disgruntled CJ Miles. Gotta love it

Of course, Horny was a pretty good ball handler. We've yet to see Matthews showcase any skills there. And I don't think Matthews will be a guy you can give the ball to when you need a bucket.

seejaydeja wrote:I've never seen this much confidence in a Jazz rookie let alone AN UNDRAFTED rookie. This guy is quickly becoming my favorite jazz man

JDubJazz wrote:Lets not go overboard with expectations. Matthews is a quality bench player. He will do good things most of the time, but will occasionally disappear for stretches. I don't see him as a starter for a championship team, but he's the kind of guy that comes in and gives 10-20 good minutes most nights.

HappyProle wrote:

JDubJazz wrote:Lets not go overboard with expectations. Matthews is a quality bench player. He will do good things most of the time, but will occasionally disappear for stretches. I don't see him as a starter for a championship team, but he's the kind of guy that comes in and gives 10-20 good minutes most nights.

Championship teams usually have a couple of starters that are really good role players. I think that's not an unreasonable expectation for Matthews.

DelaneyRudd wrote:Real Deal as in a real NBA player? Yup.

But a lot of success comes out of anonymity. Ask Mr. Millsap.

loserX wrote:

DelaneyRudd wrote:Real Deal as in a real NBA player? Yup.

But a lot of success comes out of anonymity. Ask Mr. Millsap.

My thoughts precisely. The fact that he came "out of nowhere" adds to his mystique, so let's not go too overboard just yet. I live In Canada and hear about the Raptors a lot, and the Wes situation reminds me quite a bit of the way people saw Jamario Moon in his rookie season. Fingers crossed, though, would love to see Matthews blossom.