Wesley Matthews provides spark off bench for Lakers
With starting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope out the last two games due to a mild left ankle sprain and regular contributor Alex Caruso unavailable the last four games because of the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, veteran swingman Wesley Matthews has done a nice job with the extra minutes for the Los Angeles Lakers
The defensive stopper started the season 0-for-8 from beyond the arc, but since then has made 11-of-18 (61 percent) from the 3-point line during L.A.’s four game winning streak on the road.
“I’m just getting more comfortable,” Matthews said. “For me it’s an ongoing thing. Obviously, it’s a new situation, and it’s a shortened season and all that. But for me, it really stems from the defensive end. My comfort comes from the defensive end, that’s what engages me. And then it really kind of unlocks my full game.
“I’m getting more and more comfortable in the defensive schemes and then finding my spots on the defensive end.”
For Matthews, his sticky defense and hustle plays have given the Lakers some added energy. The Lakers return home to host the San Antonio Spurs at the Staples Center on Thursday
Matthews played about 26 minutes per game on L.A.’s four-game road trip, averaging nine points a contest. He’s part of an L.A. bench averaging 39 points a contest, No. 10 in the NBA.
“Our job coming off the bench is either to extend the lead or cut into the deficit,” Matthews said. “That’s always been my mentality on every team I’ve been on. … That’s always been the identity of every great team is when you go to the bench you don’t lose anything. You’ve got to provide a spark. You’ve got to be able to do something that either extends the lead or cuts into it.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things. A lot of guys that can impact the game in different ways, and it’s just going to continue to take time.”
Matthews pointed to his days playing against older kids and consistently guarding the best player in his youth -- a plan hatched by his mother Pam Moore, a talented basketball and track athlete at the University of Wisconsin in the 1970s.
“My defense is what got me into this league,” Matthews said. “My defense is what kept me in this league. Offense has always been something that I’ve always had. Everybody plays offense, but what engages me is on the defensive end. Once you get that confidence, that swagger -- everybody’s different. For some people it’s getting an easy lay-up or getting to the free throw line, or you see that first three (pointer). Mine has always been on the defensive end.
“And it stems from my mom when she was raising me, and I was playing against kids two, three years older than me. And she told me I had to guard the best player. So that’s what has always been active in my mind and always been my mindset. So, my offense is always going to stem from my defense.”