Dallas Mavericks’ Wes Matthews says he’s going to push to be ready on opening night, but should he?
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Understandably, Wes Matthews playing on opening night would make Dallas Mavericks fans feel awfully good. And after the summer that they just endured, they probably deserve it.
But that short glimmer of hope will quickly fade. There’s really no logical reason for Matthews to push to play on opening night.
The only good things that could come of Matthews rushing his rehab would be outnumbered and heavily outweighed by the negatives that could come of it. For one, it should be noted that Matthews signed a four year, $70 million deal this summer. Not a one-year deal. No rush.
Even if the Matthews signing pays off this season, what’s the best case scenario for the Dallas Mavericks collectively, 7th or 8th seed in the West? Is that enough to put your big free agent signing at risk for?
I’m not sure it is.
And that’s exactly what Rick Carlisle was saying without actually saying, when he brought up Christmas as a potential return date for Matthews.
Matthews doesn’t agree
"[via ESPN Dallas]“The possibility of Wes being back for the opening game has not been ruled out,” Carlisle said. “I personally view it as a bit of a long shot, but it’s possible. He has done extremely well. How it goes over the next few weeks will determine where he’s at.”On Monday at the Mavs’ media day, Carlisle said Matthews was “going to take a little longer” in his recovery.“He’s not going to want to tell you that, and we’re going to have to fight to keep him off the court, but we’ve got to make sure we do this the right way and that’s he’s really 100 percent healthy and conditioned and all of those things before getting into an NBA game,” Carlisle said.“I’m trying to be ready by opening day,” Matthews said. “Whether I can play in it or not, I can’t really control that. But my goal is to [be] ready and available opening day.”"
Matthews tore his Achilles tendon in March, which would put opening night roughly 7-8 months after he sustained the injury. In comparison, Kobe Bryant torn his Achilles in April of 2013. He returned and played in his first official game in December – about eight months after the injury occurred.
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If Matthews would to play on opening night, it would be right on par with Kobe’s timeline. While the argument could be made that Matthews is much younger, I’m not sure if that’s actually a reasonable argument.
It’s understandable for Matthews to push to play on opening night. He wants to prove to the Dallas Mavericks, and their fans, that he is worth that hefty contract that he signed in the summer. And he can’t do that from the bench.
But it just isn’t smart. Even if Matthews is close to being “ready,” there’s no reason for him to push to play too soon with any injury, mush less an Achilles one. As often is the case with athletes, Wes Matthews needs to be protected from himself right now.
Not for this season, but for the next three on his big deal with the Mavs.