PORTLAND — Tuesday was a night of firsts at the Moda Center. It’s the first of December and the first time Wesley Matthews returned to the floor here since rupturing his achilles on March 5.
That injury in a roundabout way led him to the Dallas Mavericks in free-agency.
Matthews spent five years in Portland and became a fan-favorite for his gritty play and unheralded rise among the NBA ranks, going from undrafted to maximum-salary player.
The ‘Iron Man’ tried to block out every emotion possible when he entered the arena, but that preparation proved to be an impossible task.
“It was different walking in, I had my headphones on, trying to get my mind clear from any type of emotion that could possibly cloud my mind,” Matthews said. “This is obviously going to be something different than I’ve experienced. It’s different than the first time I went to Utah, I spent a year there. This is so familiar, everything about this trip has been awkward.”
Matthews didn’t do much in his former hometown, opting to stay in the hotel and rest after getting into town in the wee hours of the morning.
Matthews was asked what he missed about Portland.
Portland was home for 5 years,” Matthews said. “The fan base, the community was always awesome to me. The fans were always awesome to me. The organization. And just how weird you guys are.”
It didn’t take long for him to remember where he was.
“Keep Portland Weird,” Matthews said. “That was one of the first things I saw when I got here was that bumper sticker.”
Matthews returned to the floor much quicker than expected. For comparison’s sake, Detroit’s Brandon Jennings tore his achilles over a month before Matthews did. Jennings is still out while Matthews was on the court in the preseason.
After getting to know Matthews, that doesn’t surprise his new coach Rick Carlisle.
“If I didn’t get to know him, know what he’s about, the narrow focus he had with his rehab and everything, I would say, wow, this is shocking,” Carlisle said. “People that know him know he’s one of these ‘beat the odds’ kind of guys.”
Matthews and Carlisle both make it very clear that Matthews is not back to 100 percent, something that will take weeks or months.
Because of his laser-like focus, Matthews sometimes forgets the journey back to health, which can cause him to press to correct things like his career-low shooting percentage.
“I’m so quick to block the past and only focus on the now that I almost forget what I went through,” Matthews said. “I forget that it is a process and that it’s a blessing that I’m playing basketball as early as I was. And sometimes I take that for granted and I press and I press and that can be part of the reason that I’m shooting the way that I’m shooting.”
His teammate LaMarcus Aldridge was booed in his return to Portland, but his former coach Terry Stotts expects a much warmer welcome.
“I’m sure he’ll get a very nice ovation from the crowd,” Stotts said. “He’s beloved here and as well he should have been.”
Matthews said he would like a warm reception, but is trying to focus on winning, and block out the nostalgia.
After not being asked to come back to the Blazers after Aldridge flew south, Matthews has found health and a home with the Mavericks.
“He’s everything that we’d hoped for and more,” Carlisle said.
