Garrison Mathews - Professional Shooter

[closg00]

Interesting, obviously Matthews and his agent like his prospects in Houston vs Boston

[nate33]

Houston is a good fit. Their offense is spread pick-and-roll or spread isolation. It's critical for them to have a guy who can nail the corner 3, and Mathews is one of the best. Sengun also looks like a real good passer who knows how to find the corner shooters.

[dckingsfan]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/264465/Rockets-Claim-Garrison-Mathews-Off-Waivers-Convert-Contract-To-Two-Way

Weird... Well, Houston's rebuilding and I think Mathews will eventually get a "real" NBA contract from them - or at least I hope so!

(I wish Wiz would've just waived Gill's non-guaranteed contract and signed Mathews. Maybe there was some drama that we're not aware of.)

I still don't understand why he would accept a two-way contract?

[closg00]

Honorary *bump* for GM as he paid his dues in the G-League, and is now a key contributor on an improving Houston team.
https://sports.yahoo.com/garrison-mathews-confidence-court-started-183857095.html

[queridiculo]

Honorary *bump* for GM as he paid his dues in the G-League, and is now a key contributor on an improving Houston team.
https://sports.yahoo.com/garrison-mathews-confidence-court-started-183857095.html

No idea what Shep was seeing in Holiday, much rather would have kept Matthews around.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

Honorary *bump* for GM as he paid his dues in the G-League, and is now a key contributor on an improving Houston team.
https://sports.yahoo.com/garrison-mathews-confidence-court-started-183857095.html

No idea what Shep was seeing in Holiday, much rather would have kept Matthews around.

I'd pump the breaks a little bit considering Matthews has played in only 6 games. He's not doing anything extraordinary this season that he didn't do in past seasons. FWIW, he's shooting career low from three and the stripe while getting some minutes on a very bad team. He had a good game against Charlotte, no doubt, but he's not doing anything consistently (the game logs say as much) to be of the impression that we made a huge blunder.

Considering luxury tax implications, nothing to see here IMO. I wanted him back on the team too, but lets overreact to a very high scoring OT game against Charlotte, who also let us shoot open threes all game long that we just couldn't knock down.

[nate33]

Honorary *bump* for GM as he paid his dues in the G-League, and is now a key contributor on an improving Houston team.
https://sports.yahoo.com/garrison-mathews-confidence-court-started-183857095.html

No idea what Shep was seeing in Holiday, much rather would have kept Matthews around.

I'd pump the breaks a little bit considering Matthews has played in only 6 games. He's not doing anything extraordinary this season that he didn't do in past seasons. FWIW, he's shooting career low from three and the stripe while getting some minutes on a very bad team. He had a good game against Charlotte, no doubt, but he's not doing anything consistently (the game logs say as much) to be of the impression that we made a huge blunder.

Considering luxury tax implications, nothing to see here IMO. I wanted him back on the team too, but lets overreact to a very high scoring OT game against Charlotte, who also let us shoot open threes all game long that we just couldn't knock down.

I agree, to some extent. Mathews has a SF's game trapped in a SG's body. It's really difficult to get by with a SG who can't dribble unless you happen to have a forward or center who is a good enough ball-handler/playmaker to make up for what is lacking at the SG position. There are a few teams out there that have that kind of player (teams like Dallas and Denver, for example) and I think Mathews could thrive on a team like that. But on a normal team like ours, Mathews has a limited role. He is either undersized by guarding the SF position, or he hamstring's an offense' playmaking by being unable to dribble at the guard position.

That said, I suppose one can make the same argument regarding Holiday. He's basically a 3&D PG. His playmaking skills are no better than an average SG's, and definitely not up to the standard one expects out of a PG. The team has to compensate by playing another playmaker alongside him (Beal or Dinwiddie). We have the personnel to mostly make it work, but it's a struggle when one of our big guards is out because then Holiday has to be paired with Neto. Wes doesn't have the option of playing Holiday alongside KCP or Kispert in the backcourt.

[payitforward]

Honorary *bump* for GM as he paid his dues in the G-League, and is now a key contributor on an improving Houston team.
https://sports.yahoo.com/garrison-mathews-confidence-court-started-183857095.html

No idea what Shep was seeing in Holiday, much rather would have kept Matthews around.

I'd pump the breaks a little bit...

You only pump brakes (not breaks) if there's something wrong with them. Like with the rest of what you write:

...considering Matthews has played in only 6 games. He's not doing anything extraordinary this season that he didn't do in past seasons....

Thing is... he played very well "in past seasons," especially last year when he logged over 1000 minutes & demonstrated without any doubt that he is a solid NBA journeyman with the possibility of becoming more than that.

One way to look at it: He went undrafted in 2019, while Rui Hachimura was picked #9 the same year. Garrison Mathews has been a whole hell of a lot better in the NBA so far than Rui has!

...FWIW, he's shooting career low from three and the stripe...

Oh. How many players on the Wizards have a better 3 point % than Mathews this season? The answer is 1. KCP is shooting 37.5%, while Mathews is only shooting 37.1%. Of course Mathews is taking 40% more 3s per 40 minutes than KCP. & he has a much higher overall scoring efficiency than KCP.

..,he's not doing anything consistently (the game logs say as much) to be of the impression that we made a huge blunder....

Actually, what the game logs say is that Mathews is playing extremely well. What the Wizards' game logs say is that Aaron Holiday is playing extremely badly. That's also what the Pacers' game logs said last year, btw.

...Considering luxury tax implications, nothing to see here IMO. I wanted him back on the team too, but lets overreact to a very high scoring OT game against Charlotte, who also let us shoot open threes all game long that we just couldn't knock down.

Not sure what lux tax implications a cheap player like Mathews brings -- he'd have cost a lot less than Aaron Holiday!

Still... even if it's not "nothing," it's not the end of the world to have lost him. Wish we had him all the same!

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

No idea what Shep was seeing in Holiday, much rather would have kept Matthews around.

I'd pump the breaks a little bit...

You only pump brakes (not breaks) if there's something wrong with them. Like with the rest of what you write:

...considering Matthews has played in only 6 games. He's not doing anything extraordinary this season that he didn't do in past seasons....

Thing is... he played very well "in past seasons," especially last year when he logged over 1000 minutes & demonstrated without any doubt that he is a solid NBA journeyman with the possibility of becoming more than that.

One way to look at it: He went undrafted in 2019, while Rui Hachimura was picked #9 the same year. Garrison Mathews has been a whole hell of a lot better in the NBA so far than Rui has!

...FWIW, he's shooting career low from three and the stripe...

Oh. How many players on the Wizards have a better 3 point % than Mathews this season? The answer is 1. KCP is shooting 37.5%, while Mathews is only shooting 37.1%. Of course Mathews is taking 40% more 3s per 40 minutes than KCP. & he has a much higher overall scoring efficiency than KCP.

..,he's not doing anything consistently (the game logs say as much) to be of the impression that we made a huge blunder....

Actually, what the game logs say is that Mathews is playing extremely well. What the Wizards' game logs say is that Aaron Holiday is playing extremely badly. That's also what the Pacers' game logs said last year, btw.

...Considering luxury tax implications, nothing to see here IMO. I wanted him back on the team too, but lets overreact to a very high scoring OT game against Charlotte, who also let us shoot open threes all game long that we just couldn't knock down.

Not sure what lux tax implications a cheap player like Mathews brings -- he'd have cost a lot less than Aaron Holiday!

Still... even if it's not "nothing," it's not the end of the world to have lost him. Wish we had him all the same!

First and foremost, awesome catch there with the misspell. Always invigorating to get that "gotcha" moment regarding someone's imperfect internet grammar. Heady stuff.

Any who, my point was not to say Mathews is bad, but just that we may not want to jump to any "buyers remorse" narrative over a two game hot streak from a player on a team with zero expectations (though you could argue that he's fighting for his NBA career, so that is a challenge). Before the last two games, he was 6-22 (~27%) from three in four games. So he's been streaky in a very small sample size. As for the lux cap implications, I was of the impression regardless of what you think about the Holiday trade, that we had little to no wiggle room with any additional signings in the absence of a trade? Correct me if I'm wrong, I could be. So Holiday's contract was baked in the cake already in terms of how I look at things. Water under the bridge, not 20/20, revisionist history. And Holiday has had some strong moments on a team that is winning basketball games at a winning clip, so that can't be ignored, even if at other moments he hasn't played great.

Again I like Mathews, I think Brooks was terrible with how he played him, I would have loved for him to come back on a good, cheap deal but that doesn't mean I also can't say that he has limitations and what he has done in Houston as of today is nothing that the Wizards should fret over.

P.S. PIF, it is possible to have conversations AND disagree, and not have to try to show someone up and/or belittle them in the process.

[nate33]

Mathews continues to produce in Houston.

He has played in 8 games now, posting a positive on/off differential in 7 of them.

He has played 25+ minutes in each of the last 4 games (starting the last 3 of them) and has gone 16-31 from 3-point range while helping lead the Rockets to 4 consecutive wins.

His efficiency numbers continue to be just as awesome as they were for us the last 2 years, only he is now getting more minutes and a higher usage rate.

[FAH1223]

Mathews continues to produce in Houston.

He has played in 8 games now, posting a positive on/off differential in 7 of them.

He has played 25+ minutes in each of the last 4 games (starting the last 3 of them) and has gone 16-31 from 3-point range while helping lead the Rockets to 4 consecutive wins.

His efficiency numbers continue to be just as awesome as they were for us the last 2 years, only he is now getting more minutes and a higher usage rate.

He's a catalyst in the Rockets suddenly winning games!

[closg00]

During the current win-streak, Matthews has gone:

4-7
5-11
5-9
2-4

3-pointers made, he will finally get the NBA contract he deserves.I wish we still had him, we predicted this.

[nate33]

During the current win-streak, Matthews has gone:

4-7
5-11
5-9
2-4

3-pointers made, he will finally get the NBA contract he deserves.I wish we still had him, we predicted this.

Yes. He is a good player and worthy of a real NBA contract. That said, I don't really think DC was the ideal fit for him. Certainly not after trading for KCP and acquiring Kispert.

I'm glad he has found a place where he can showcase his skills.

[NatP4]

Yeah, I think Kispert eventually becomes a better Mathews, but it raises the question: why not just keep Mathews and use the 15th overall pick on someone else? But they also went and basically threw away the 22nd overall pick.

Still wonder what we could’ve done in terms of trading up with the 15th and 22nd pick combined. That Franz Wagner guy is looking really solid.

[payitforward]

I'd pump the breaks a little bit...

You only pump brakes (not breaks) if there's something wrong with them. Like with the rest of what you write:

...considering Matthews has played in only 6 games. He's not doing anything extraordinary this season that he didn't do in past seasons....

Thing is... he played very well "in past seasons," especially last year when he logged over 1000 minutes & demonstrated without any doubt that he is a solid NBA journeyman with the possibility of becoming more than that.

One way to look at it: He went undrafted in 2019, while Rui Hachimura was picked #9 the same year. Garrison Mathews has been a whole hell of a lot better in the NBA so far than Rui has!

...FWIW, he's shooting career low from three and the stripe...

Oh. How many players on the Wizards have a better 3 point % than Mathews this season? The answer is 1. KCP is shooting 37.5%, while Mathews is only shooting 37.1%. Of course Mathews is taking 40% more 3s per 40 minutes than KCP. & he has a much higher overall scoring efficiency than KCP.

..,he's not doing anything consistently (the game logs say as much) to be of the impression that we made a huge blunder....

Actually, what the game logs say is that Mathews is playing extremely well. What the Wizards' game logs say is that Aaron Holiday is playing extremely badly. That's also what the Pacers' game logs said last year, btw.

...Considering luxury tax implications, nothing to see here IMO. I wanted him back on the team too, but lets overreact to a very high scoring OT game against Charlotte, who also let us shoot open threes all game long that we just couldn't knock down.

Not sure what lux tax implications a cheap player like Mathews brings -- he'd have cost a lot less than Aaron Holiday!

Still... even if it's not "nothing," it's not the end of the world to have lost him. Wish we had him all the same!

First and foremost, awesome catch there with the misspell. Always invigorating to get that "gotcha" moment regarding someone's imperfect internet grammar. Heady stuff. ...

I'm glad you apreachyatid it.

...Any who, my point was not to say Mathews is bad, but just that we may not want to jump to any "buyers remorse" narrative over a two game hot streak from a player on a team with zero expectations (though you could argue that he's fighting for his NBA career, so that is a challenge). Before the last two games, he was 6-22 (~27%) from three in four games. So he's been streaky in a very small sample size. As for the lux cap implications, I was of the impression regardless of what you think about the Holiday trade, that we had little to no wiggle room with any additional signings in the absence of a trade? Correct me if I'm wrong, I could be....

Fair enough.

...P.S. PIF, it is possible to have conversations AND disagree, and not have to try to show someone up and/or belittle them in the process.

For sure! I don't think correcting "breaks" to "brakes" is trying to "belittle someone."

& I sure don't think it's as harsh as calling someone a "hater" repeatedly, because he points out that a player isn't actually playing well (even tho we'd like him to be). Or don't you agree?

As to Mathews, the problem in my mind is just that we took an asset & threw it in the trash. Maybe it comes down to the fact that we picked up Gill's option & dropped Mathews -- even tho we have a long list of 4s on the roster.

Be nice to have a 2-3 who was able to make a 3-point shot, don't you think?

Now... it was a complicated off-season, no doubt. & there were many positives to balance that negative. So, no big deal.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

You only pump brakes (not breaks) if there's something wrong with them. Like with the rest of what you write:


Thing is... he played very well "in past seasons," especially last year when he logged over 1000 minutes & demonstrated without any doubt that he is a solid NBA journeyman with the possibility of becoming more than that.

One way to look at it: He went undrafted in 2019, while Rui Hachimura was picked #9 the same year. Garrison Mathews has been a whole hell of a lot better in the NBA so far than Rui has!


Oh. How many players on the Wizards have a better 3 point % than Mathews this season? The answer is 1. KCP is shooting 37.5%, while Mathews is only shooting 37.1%. Of course Mathews is taking 40% more 3s per 40 minutes than KCP. & he has a much higher overall scoring efficiency than KCP.


Actually, what the game logs say is that Mathews is playing extremely well. What the Wizards' game logs say is that Aaron Holiday is playing extremely badly. That's also what the Pacers' game logs said last year, btw.


Not sure what lux tax implications a cheap player like Mathews brings -- he'd have cost a lot less than Aaron Holiday!

Still... even if it's not "nothing," it's not the end of the world to have lost him. Wish we had him all the same!

First and foremost, awesome catch there with the misspell. Always invigorating to get that "gotcha" moment regarding someone's imperfect internet grammar. Heady stuff. ...

I'm glad you apreachyatid it.

...Any who, my point was not to say Mathews is bad, but just that we may not want to jump to any "buyers remorse" narrative over a two game hot streak from a player on a team with zero expectations (though you could argue that he's fighting for his NBA career, so that is a challenge). Before the last two games, he was 6-22 (~27%) from three in four games. So he's been streaky in a very small sample size. As for the lux cap implications, I was of the impression regardless of what you think about the Holiday trade, that we had little to no wiggle room with any additional signings in the absence of a trade? Correct me if I'm wrong, I could be....

Fair enough.

...P.S. PIF, it is possible to have conversations AND disagree, and not have to try to show someone up and/or belittle them in the process.

For sure! I don't think correcting "breaks" to "brakes" is trying to "belittle someone."

& I sure don't think it's as harsh as calling someone a "hater" repeatedly, because he points out that a player isn't actually playing well (even tho we'd like him to be). Or don't you agree?

As to Mathews, the problem in my mind is just that we took an asset & threw it in the trash. Maybe it comes down to the fact that we picked up Gill's option & dropped Mathews -- even tho we have a long list of 4s on the roster.

Be nice to have a 2-3 who was able to make a 3-point shot, don't you think?

Now... it was a complicated off-season, no doubt. & there were many positives to balance that negative. So, no big deal.

Dude, take the biggest hike. You're whole routine is so stale at this point. Go crawl back under your internet rock.

[payitforward]

Huh! I guess some people can't take a joke.

[payitforward]

In his last 5 games, Mathews is 19-41 on 3-pointers. He's also 8-9 on 2-pointers. & 8-10 from the line.

That's 81 points on 50 FGAs & 10 FTAs. A TS% of 74.4%

He's playing 31 minutes a game. Houston has won all of those games -- they're on a 5 game winning streak. He's started the last 4 of those 5.

As CntOutSmrtCrazy pointed out, Mathews "is fighting for his NBA career." He's doing a pretty good job, I'd say!

Good for him! -- I think we can all agree on that.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

In his last 5 games, Mathews is 19-41 on 3-pointers. He's also 8-9 on 2-pointers. & 8-10 from the line.

That's 81 points on 50 FGAs & 10 FTAs. A TS% of 74.4%

He's playing 31 minutes a game. Houston has won all of those games -- they're on a 5 game winning streak. He's started the last 4 of those 5.

As CntOutSmrtCrazy pointed out, Mathews "is fighting for his NBA career." He's doing a pretty good job, I'd say!

Good for him! -- I think we can all agree on that.

Yep. I still scratch my head about Tommy’s draft day performance. Obviously, trading W’Brick prior to the draft was great, but giving up a first rounder for Holliday while wasting a spot that could have been used for Matthews, a straight up better player, for cheaper at a position of need.

[gambitx777]

In his last 5 games, Mathews is 19-41 on 3-pointers. He's also 8-9 on 2-pointers. & 8-10 from the line.

That's 81 points on 50 FGAs & 10 FTAs. A TS% of 74.4%

He's playing 31 minutes a game. Houston has won all of those games -- they're on a 5 game winning streak. He's started the last 4 of those 5.

As CntOutSmrtCrazy pointed out, Mathews "is fighting for his NBA career." He's doing a pretty good job, I'd say!

Good for him! -- I think we can all agree on that.

Yep. I still scratch my head about Tommy’s draft day performance. Obviously, trading W’Brick prior to the draft was great, but giving up a first rounder for Holliday while wasting a spot that could have been used for Matthews, a straight up better player, for cheaper at a position of need.

While I don't think it was a bad inclusion I agree cutting the pacers out of that and keeping the draft pick and using a little money on Matthew would have been the more optimal move.

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