<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/lebron-7.jpg"><figcaption>CP</figcaption></figure><h1>LeBron James speaks out on Lakers adding Marc Gasol, Wesley Matthews, Montrezl Harrell, Dennis Schroder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-11-30T17:03:05-08:00">November 30th, 5:03pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-11-30T17:12:20-08:00">November 30th, 5:12pm</time><address><a>Ashish Mathur</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have had a helluva offseason after winning the 2020 championship, as the team added Marc Gasol, Wesley Matthews, Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schroder.</p><p>The Lakers acquired Schroder from the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> and signed Gasol, Matthews and Harrell in free agency.</p><p>James, who hasn’t done any interviews since the Lakers won the 2020 title over the Miami Heat, reunited with Richard Jefferson and Allie Clifton for the “<a href="https://twitter.com/SpectrumSN/status/1333564725494333440?s=20">Road Trippin Podcast</a>” and talked about the additions of Gasol, Matthews, Harrell and Schroder.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"<a href="https://twitter.com/MarcGasol?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@MarcGasol</a> has my Defensive POY trophy at his house but that's not here or there." 😂 <a href="https://twitter.com/KingJames?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@KingJames</a> talks about his new teammates on tomorrow night's <a href="https://twitter.com/RoadTrippinPod?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@RoadTrippinPod</a> at 8 PM on Spectrum SportsNet. 🍷 <a href="https://twitter.com/RealAClifton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@RealAClifton</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Rjeff24?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@Rjeff24</a> <a href="https://t.co/6dg4hCUFN7" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/6dg4hCUFN7</a></p><p>— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpectrumSN/status/1333564725494333440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">December 1, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>The Lakers are going to have a lethal starting lineup next season. It will likely feature Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Marc Gasol. Wesley Matthews and Montrezl Harrell, meanwhile, will come off the bench.</p><p>James, who is the only player in NBA history to win three Finals MVP awards with three different franchises, could very well capture title No. 5 next season. The Lakers are going to be the betting favorites to repeat as champions since they have James and Davis leading the way and more depth on the roster now with the additions of Gasol, Matthews, Harrell and Schroder.</p><p>During the 2019-20 regular season, James averaged 25.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game. He led the league in assists for the first time during his legendary career.</p><p>As he does every postseason, LeBron put up monster numbers in the playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets and Heat. The Lakers superstar averaged 27.6 points, 10.8 boards and 8.8 assists in 21 games at Walt Disney World.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

LeBron James speaks out on Lakers adding Marc Gasol, Wesley Matthews, Montrezl Harrell, Dennis Schroder

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Lakers-news-Wesley-Matthews-speaks-out-on-why-he-a-hand-to-glove-fit-for-LA.jpg"></figure><h1>Wesley Matthews speaks out on why he’s a hand-to-glove fit for Lakers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-11-29T05:38:57-08:00">November 29th, 5:38am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-11-29T05:38:57-08:00">November 29th, 5:38am</time><address><a>Skyler Carlin</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Wesley Matthews is joining the Los Angeles Lakers in the upcoming season, and he believes he brings a lot to the table. Ahead of the start of the season, Matthews spoke out on why he thinks he’s a perfect fit with the Lakers.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1331354915319418880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1331354915319418880%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.talkbasket.net%2F112541-wesley-matthews-on-his-defensive-role-with-the-lakers-im-a-defensive-mind-on-a-team-full-of-defensive-minded-people" rel="noopener noreferrer">Via Harrison Feigen of SB Nation’s Silver Screen and Roll:</a></p><blockquote>“Me, I am gonna do whatever it is that they want me to do. I would like to think I know a thing or two on the defensive end. I can read situations, I can make adjustments on the fly and I’m a defensive mind on a team full of defensive-minded people,” Matthews said.</blockquote><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/LakersReporter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@LakersReporter</a> asked Wesley Matthews what stood out to him about the defense that Frank Vogel and the Lakers have built.</p><p>His answer? </p><p>"I saw a lot of adjustments." <a href="https://t.co/Zn0RwqKmmh" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/Zn0RwqKmmh</a></p><p>— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) <a href="https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1331354915319418880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">November 24, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Following the trade of Danny Green for Dennis Schroder, the Lakers were in the market for a 3-point shooter who could contribute on the defensive end. Therefore, Matthews was immediately on their radar and there was mutual interest for the veteran shooting guard.</p><p>Signing with Los Angeles was something that was a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wesley-matthews-ties-to-lakers-go-back-to-the-day-he-was-born/">full-circle moment</a> for Matthews. His father, Wesley Matthews Sr., played for the Lakers in the 1980s with Magic Johnson and other Hall of Fame players.</p><p>Just a season ago, Matthews spent the year with the Milwaukee Bucks, seeing a career-low 24.4 minutes per game. He still shot a modest 36.4 percent from the 3-point range, proving he can still space the floor.</p><p>At the same time, even at 34 years old, Matthews can still be a defensive stalwart for a contending team. While Matthews is an efficient 3-point shooter for his career (38.1 percent), he believes his defensive prowess is why he fits in with the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Wesley Matthews speaks out on why he’s a hand-to-glove fit for Lakers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Wesley-Matthews-Lakers-Pat-Riley.png"></figure><h1>Wesley Matthews’ ties to Lakers go back to the day he was born</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-11-25T08:01:12-08:00">November 25th, 8:01am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-11-25T08:18:27-08:00">November 25th, 8:18am</time><address><a>Michael Corvo</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When Wesley Matthews makes his debut with the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/los-angeles-lakers/">Los Angeles Lakers</a> next month, he will become the second member of his family to play for the Purple-and-Gold.</p><p>Matthews’ father, Wes, won two championships in both seasons he played with the “Showtime” Lakers, in 1987 and 1988. (The senior Matthews played for six teams over nine seasons from 1981-1990, including 101 games for L.A.).</p><blockquote>“That was the first place he picked up a basketball,” Wes told <a href="https://theathletic.com/2220776/2020/11/25/lakers-wesley-matthews-wes-matthews/">The Athletic’s Bill Oram</a> about a photograph of young Wesley attending a Lakers game at The Forum.</blockquote><p>That memory carries extra weight for Wes, who spent much of Wesley’s childhood playing basketball overseas as his son was raised by a single mother, Pam. Today, the two are still working on their relationship.</p><blockquote>“We are very much closer than we were (when I was) growing up, and as I’ve gotten older and older, our relationship has continued to grow and it’s something that I’m very proud of,” the recently-signed Laker told reporters on Tuesday.</blockquote><p>Wesley Jr. was born on Oct. 14, 1986 — the same day his father signed with the Lakers. Upon his birth, he was immediately welcomed into the Lakers family.</p><blockquote>“He wasn’t even 24 hours old (and) he was blessed by the basketball gods,” Wes Matthews Sr. said. “Magic was holding him. Kareem is holding him. Pat Riley is holding him, welcoming him to the world. It’s unbelievable.</blockquote><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">I played with the father of Wes Matthews Jr. on the Championship Showtime Lakers. What a great legacy for the Matthews family. Congratulations!</p><p>— Earvin <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/magic-johnson/3021/" target="_blank" title="Magic Johnson">Magic Johnson</a> (@MagicJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicJohnson/status/1330001737575518208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">November 21, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Matthews agreed to sign a one year deal with the defending champions within the first half-hour of free agency, Oram notes, citing the Lakers aggressive pursuit of him.</p><blockquote>“I think it’s a pretty simple thing,” the veteran shooting guard said. “You want to be wanted, and you want to be wanted by the best.”</blockquote><p>Now, Matthews will aim to become the second member of his lineage to earn a ring in L.A.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Wesley Matthews’ ties to Lakers go back to the day he was born

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Wesley-Matthews-reveals-how-Kobe-Bryant-helped-him-recover-from-Achilles-injury.jpg"></figure><h1>Lakers’ Wesley Matthews reveals how Kobe Bryant helped him recover from Achilles injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-11-24T13:24:52-08:00">November 24th, 1:24pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-11-24T13:24:52-08:00">November 24th, 1:24pm</time><address><a>Marty Fenn</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Lakers guard Wesley Matthews has a connection with his new team.</p><p>Matthews revealed Tuesday late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant actually called him after the guard suffered an Achilles injury in March of 2015.</p><p>The 34-year-old said Bryant—who suffered an Achilles injury of his own two years prior—reached out to him in order to shed light on the trails of the recovery process. Matthews stated Bryant’s brutal honesty helped him get priorities in order and stay the course (via <a href="https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1331339520181035008">Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen &amp; Roll</a>).</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Wesley Matthews said that one of the people that helped him recover from his torn Achilles a few years ago. He said Kobe called him from an unknown number — they'd never talked on the phone before — and that Kobe being honest about how hard it would be really helped him.</p><p>— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) <a href="https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1331339520181035008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">November 24, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Kobe was never shy about sharing his wisdom during the Lakers great’s playing days. His words clearly had a resounding impact on Matthews, and still do to this day. In fact, it would seem Bryant’s forewarnings were the precursor to Matthew’s stunning comeback.</p><p>An Achilles injury can sometimes take up to 12 months—or longer—to fully heal. But while Matthews suffered the injury in March, he was back on the court in late October. It was a stunning turnaround that speaks to Matthews’ dogged commitment to the process. Moreover, the former Marquette product still managed to play at a high level.</p><p>Things have changed for Matthews in recent years. He is no longer relied upon as another scoring option, but rather a physical defender who can also space the floor with his ability to shoot from the perimeter. Both skills will be imperative for this year’s Lakers team, especially with Danny Green <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-danny-green-reacts-avery-bradley-kentavious-caldwell-pope-rajon-rondo-getting-new-deals/">no longer on the roster</a>.</p><p>Los Angeles will be hoping Matthews can play his role to perfection and be a defensive workhorse. Considering some of the things he has overcome in the past, that would hardly appear to be an issue.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers’ Wesley Matthews reveals how Kobe Bryant helped him recover from Achilles injury

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/3-bold-predictions-for-Wesley-Matthews-in-his-first-season-with-the-Lakers-Thumbnail.jpg"></figure><h1>3 bold predictions for Wesley Matthews in his first season with the Lakers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-11-23T07:18:48-08:00">November 23rd, 7:18am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-11-23T07:18:48-08:00">November 23rd, 7:18am</time><address><a>Virgil Villanueva</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In their quest for a successful title defense in the 2020-21 NBA season, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/los-angeles-lakers/">Los Angeles Lakers</a> fortified their roster by signing Wesley Matthews, an 11-year veteran known for his steady shooting from deep and significant experience on the floor.</p><p>It’s inevitable that Matthews will be compared to Danny Green. Though they weren’t swapped for one another, Matthews will still be seen as Green’s replacement as the Lakers’ veteran swingman. While the two are more different than similar, it’s necessary to compare the two to see how Matthews will fill in the spot left by Green.</p><p>Here are three bold predictions for Wesley Matthews in his first season with the Lakers.</p><h2><b>3. Matthews back to double-digit points average</b></h2><p>Last year, in his lone season with the Milwaukee Bucks, Wesley Matthews averaged a career-low in points with <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/matthwe02.html">7.5 a game</a>. He also made just 1.6 3-pointers, the lowest since his second year in the league when he knocked down 1.9 3-pointers per contest. While some may see this as a decline in Matthews’ game, one also has to consider the role he played with the Bucks to get the full picture.</p><p>Yes, Matthews was a designated 3-pointer for the Bucks. His main role was to space-out the floor to allow Giannis Antetokounmpo to pummel the defense. And if the opposing team collapses on the Greek Freak, the ideal scenario would be for Antetokounmpo to kick it out to Matthews and swish — an automatic 3-pointer. However, Matthews attempted just 4.4 3-pointers last season — his second career-low.</p><p>The main difference is pretty obvious: the Bucks don’t have LeBron James, arguably one of the greatest passers that the NBA has ever seen. James’ former and current teammates have said it time and time again: if you’re open, you better be ready to shoot. That’s because James will always find you.</p><p>As such, there’s a good chance that Matthews will be back to his career average of 13.1 points per game. He will also be back to knocking down at least two 3-pointers per contest. Most of it will be coming from the short corners where he shot an elite 42.3 percent clip last season.</p><h2><b>2. An uptick in LeBron James’ assists in the playoffs</b></h2><p>In the 2019-20 regular season, LeBron James led the league in assists for the first time in his career with <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jamesle01.html">10.2 per game</a>. Close to 30 percent of James’ dishes went to Anthony Davis. In the playoffs, James dished out 8.8 assists per game. This dip was expected since defenses are much more sophisticated come playoff time.</p><p>Statistically, Danny Green is the better shooter with a career clip of 40 percent from deep as opposed to Matthews’ 38.1 percent. But as Lakers’ fans saw in the playoffs, Green struggled with just a 33.9 percent clip from deep. Even with tighter defenses, Green was still presented with lots of open opportunities to swish those 3-pointers.</p><p>As for Matthews, he shot at a decent 39.5 percent from 3-point country. Of course, Green played many more games and took many more shots since the Lakers made it all the way to the NBA Finals. But Matthews’ higher shooting percentage suggests that he made the most with the opportunities he was given, which, compared to Green, was minuscule.</p><p>And James, who’s now the primary playmaker with Rondo out, will find Matthews camping on the short corners more often than not. And there’s a very good possibility that James’ assists numbers will experience a little uptick, if not fall within the 8-9 band in the playoffs.</p><h2><b>1. Early struggles on defense</b></h2><p>To be fair with Green, he mightily made up for his struggles on offense by being a consistent contributor on the defensive end of the floor.</p><p>A member of the 2017 All-NBA Defensive Second Team, Green had a defensive rating of 101.8 in the NBA Finals which led the team. He also had a net rating of 15.8 in the playoffs which also led the Lakers. In the regular season, he had a defensive rating of <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers-team-stats?category=advanced&amp;season=2019&amp;seasonType=reg">114.1</a>, which makes him one of the best defenders on the team.</p><p>Matthews doesn’t have such numbers to boast. In fact, the Bucks’ defensive rating plummeted to 104.1 from 98.3 when Matthews was on the floor. While analysts have tagged Matthews as a 3-and-D player, he’s not actually a stellar defender like Green. As such, Lakers fans should expect a rather weak defensive stance from the 34-year-old. But given that Frank Vogel is a defense-first type of coach, Matthews will likely catch up to speed.</p><p>While it’s unlikely that he’ll make a defensive impact like Green, expect Matthews to improve as the season progresses.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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3 bold predictions for Wesley Matthews in his first season with the Lakers