Are we just going to ignore the play of Garrison Mathews?

He was bound to come down to earth. He is definitely taking lots of tough shots, I’m not sure if he was doing that in Washington.

 

He needs players around him to draw attention and free him up, he is trying to do too much and is struggling big time.

DD

 

Seems like our newest hero may be regressing back to his mean...

Come on G...you can do it!

 

50+ games to go, I am not worried that much.

It is going to be tough either way. The last stretch of games you would have to face all Play In and Play Off contenders.

 

Sounds like he needs to learn from the bench!

 

Sure does if he keeps it up.

DD

 

Im not worried about it either, Matthews is like finding $20 bucks on the ground.

But let’s keep our wits about us in regards to our shooters, they go through hot and cold patches.

 

The early shot clock heaves he need to stop. Patience, Young Jedi. Pit Bull on D, run to your corner, and let the game come to you.

 

Unrealistic to think he would play at that level all season long, but he won’t stay like this either. I’m actually a little more surprised at how poorly he’s playing right now than I was at how good he was playing before. He’ll be okay, he just needs to tap the brakes and slow down some until his shot comes back.

 

What is Matthews RAPTOR rating after last night? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

What was he thinking trying to block an Okoro break-away slam? Must have had a football flashback.

 

"I'm going to help those guys on the bench learn! Never give up!"

 

Vernon is trying to make the nickname Mad Mathews happen

haha, that’s actually more fitting than Garry Bird

 

From Gary bird to Gary turd in just one week

so glad I'm not the GM because I would have gave him a huge contract last week after the nets game. Now we are all seeing why every team did not want him. I got to admit when he was playing great I thought it was very very suspicious no team wanted him now it all makes sense.

So since all he likes to do is Jack up shots without hesitation it would be best to come off the bench that way he can be a spark plug off the bench.

 

This writing him off is just as stupid as calling him the next Larry Bird. A couple of bad games and now he is trash, LOL. He is a high octane hustler and like most 3 pt specialists goes through cold spells. He may also be trying to hard to make up for the lack of offense without Gordan and Wood. He should be signed to a House like contract if possible. He will always hustle and his 3 pt career percentage is close to 40%. That is really good for a role player.

 

Needs to adopt the step back 3.. or crossover 3.. or corner 3... or pull up transition 3... or just sit his ass down and denounce the Gary Bird mantra..

 

Does anybody else think he has a bounce-back game tonight? He has shot really poorly in 4 of the previous 5 games. I kind of think he's due.

 

He’s statistically had probably the worst week of his career going back to after the Milwaukee game. He’s slumping. As good as he has been, this last week has pulled his three point percentage for the season down below what his career average is. He has taken some rough falls lately. My guess is that he might be a little banged up and playing through it because of all the other injuries. He’s just 2/18 on his threes since Milwaukee. No way that continues if he’s healthy.

 

https://theathletic.com/3036858/202...ugh-two-way-contracts-and-finding-confidence/

The Athletic caught up with Mathews to discuss his journey to Houston, why he had thoughts of entering into another line of work, his impact and much more. (Note: Answers have been lightly edited for style and clarity.)

Garrison, let’s start with this past offseason. As you were trying to latch onto an NBA roster, what was that thought process like?

Yeah. It was tough, man. All along, to be honest with you, I thought I was gonna be in Washington. I thought I had played pretty well there. I thought, from what I was told, that they liked me, and so I thought I’d be there, to be honest. So that didn’t happen, and then free agency was tough. By the time I was let go, by the time we got my restricted rights rescinded, there’s slim pickings, man. Everybody was down to their last couple roster spots, you know? Money’s dried up, so it’s tough. You know, during that time, everybody’s wanting you to come fight for a job in camp.

There were two-way offers and stuff, but I just didn’t want to do another two-way. So me and my agent were just like, I’ll hold out for a little while, continue to hold close to a couple of teams, but they ended up either going with somebody else or wanting me to come in and fight for a spot. So when it comes down to camp time, Boston wants me to take a two-way, maybe a possibility for a 15th spot. I went to camp knowing probably I wouldn’t get to get it. I wasn’t going to take their two-way route. And then the day I got cut, my agent was like: “Look, there probably won’t be a minimum job out there. You’re gonna have to take Houston’s two-way, because it’s the best opportunity.” So that was kind of a short rundown of it.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but there was a time you mentioned the difficulty of finding work and the possibility of doing something totally different than basketball if it didn’t work out. How close were you ever to making that decision, and what was it — if you can share?

I wasn’t crazy close, I was just talking to my agent. And I was just like, if this doesn’t pan out … I truly did not want to take another two-way, and I was like, if I can’t find a job that’s not a two-way, I’m just going to do something else. My degree is in criminal justice. Growing up, I always thought maybe I’d go into the military. But obviously, I fell into basketball and couldn’t pass that up. So if that didn’t work out, some sort of law enforcement, military, something like that. But, like I said, I wasn’t that close. I was just having a conversation with my agent. If this doesn’t pan out this way, I’ll go do this.

You eventually sign with Houston. What were those initial conversations like in terms of understanding you really didn’t want to take the two-way, but it’s getting late in the game? What were those early stages like, and who did you speak to convince you?

After my agent got me on the phone with Rafael (Stone) and Coach Silas, they kind of explained to me how they needed shooting. They obviously had Armoni (Brooks), but they needed not just one shooter but more floor spacers. That’s really what sold me and my agent; that’s what they needed. I knew I was going to go to the G League for a couple of weeks because I wasn’t in camp with them. They wanted me to learn their system, and I didn’t really know how long I’d be down there. I guess it all just depended on how I was doing and how I was learning their stuff. I wasn’t expecting it to be this quick. But that’s kind of what sold me, just a conversation with Coach Silas and Rafael, them telling me their needs and stuff like that.

You mentioned the G League, spending some time with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. How important was that stint for you, and what did you learn, if anything, playing with those guys in a similar system to what the Rockets want to do?

You know, a lot of the stuff defensively, I kind of already knew, kind of picked up on pretty quick. Offensively, just needed to learn their plays. And then really honestly, just getting my confidence back. You know, in Washington, I was mainly just sitting in the corner the whole two years I was there. I wasn’t coming off screens like my game usually is. I wasn’t a high-volume guy — like, I rarely touched the ball. So that was really kind of my role the last two years. I guess I really lost a lot of confidence in my game just sitting over in the corners. It was tough. That’s not really my game, just sitting. So just really kind of building my confidence, my mood. (It) was like, you got the green light, just hoop. You’re here to shoot the ball. That really was huge in me getting my normal game back, getting the feel back. I’m super aggressive, and I wasn’t able to be aggressive in Washington. So just getting my confidence, I think, was the biggest part.

Hearing you talk about being more than just a stationary shooter is important. What has it been like in Houston being able to do some of the things you’re used to, like coming off flare screens or different actions — things that force defenses to pay attention to you? What does that do for your confidence?

I mean, it’s super important. When you have a guy who’s a shooter, he’s always a threat on the floor. Can’t leave him. Say I’m on the weak side of the pick-and-roll with Eric (Gordon) coming off the pick-and-roll and (Christian) Wood rolling … that’s three scorers right there. They have to hang on to me, and if not, C. Wood’s getting a lob. If they help, I’m getting a wide-open 3. That’s tough to guard when you have a shooter, a lob threat and a good point guard coming off. I mean, there’s really nothing you can do. It’s either a lob or an open 3 — and you can’t help off the 3, you know what I mean? So when you have a shooter who spaces the floor, it just impacts the game in such a different way.

You’re right, and that’s probably why your impact has been immediate. Would you agree, though? Why has your transition here been that way, being inserted into the starting lineup and helping change its fortunes?

I mean, I wouldn’t say it was easy. The first three, four or five games I was here, I was struggling. But I was slowly trying to get my feel, get acclimated with the guys. Coming from the G League, I had all the confidence, and they had all the confidence in the world for me to shoot it. And that’s the way Coach wants to play — just play fast, shoot the ball — and that tailors to my game. When you have guys who trust you to shoot the ball and a coach who trusts you to shoot the ball, I just let that thing fly, and I feel like I’m back to playing the game that I know how to play. I’m not just being passive like I was in Washington, because that just hurts my game. Like, when I’m overly aggressive and play hard and play worry-free in a sense, then that’s the way I play the game. When I’m confident and being aggressive, that’s what’s been happening over the past few weeks.

 

You joked about this after a recent game, but do you honestly like taking contested 3s over wide-open ones? Is that some sort of shooter’s quirk?

Honestly, I hate open shots.

And why is that?

When I’m coming off screens or somebody contests, my shot’s fast. I get it off quick. And when you’re wide-open, you tend to slow down your mechanics. You tend to slow down, and I think that’s what really throws me off. Even when I’m wide-open, I try to continue to shoot the ball super fast like I do if I’m contested. If you start changing open shots, depending on how open you are, it hurts, so that’s why I would prefer being contested. But I’ll shoot it at any time, really, to be honest with you.

Since you’ve been in the lineup, have you seen the coaching staff put you in certain actions and sets to generate looks to shoot?

Every now and then. It’s really just through the basis of the offense, though. When we’re moving the ball, we’re setting screens, we’re rolling. They don’t have to run plays for me. I try to find open spots. Guys like Jae’Sean Tate do a great job of running dribble handoffs with me. And when we’re doing pistol or something like that, C. Wood does a great job screening for the flare. That’s kind of how I get my shots through the offense.

Anyone who’s seen you play recently wouldn’t just label you as a shooter, right? Seems to me like you’re pretty aggressive defensively, too. You’ve talked about your football background before, but where did you pick up that aggression defensively — the want to take charges, to be physical?

I mean, it’s definitely my football background. You know, my brother whupped my ass growing up, so it would probably be a little bit of that, too. It’s just always been my nature, man. Growing up playing football, you can’t be tentative, you can’t be scared. It’s a physical sport. I’m not one of these finesse guys in basketball where I’ll break somebody down. I can’t afford to play soft; I got to try to impact the game in any way I can. If that’s taking the charge, I love taking charges, man. It doesn’t feel good, but I love it. It’s just instant energy for the team. It’s instant. It can instantly stop a run, or it can instantly change momentum for us, whatever it is. Charges are a huge part of the game, and I just love doing it, man. I love playing physically. I love physicality. I hate softness. I hate when the game is played soft. But I just like mixing it up with people, and it’s just always been my nature. I don’t know why.

There’s going to be some adjustment once Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green are back full-time, is that fair to say? You played a number of games with Eric Gordon and Armoni Brooks in the backcourt, but what’s the shift going to be like? Or is that too early to say?

They’re great players. They’re great. They’re great at getting in the paint. They’re great at drawing defenders, so I can’t really speak to how they will be. I just know they’re great players, and … they’re really talented. So I guess we’ll see. I don’t know.

Whatever it ends up looking like, the camaraderie of the group will play a big part. How has that part of the game been, being around the team? It’s in the midst of a rebuild, trying to plan something for the future, but what’s it like being around those guys on a daily basis?

It’s been good. I really like the chemistry of the team. I really like the guys here. You know, we’re all young — or most of us are young. We’re trying to figure things out. It was obviously tough at first, when we were 1-15 when I first got here. But since we’ve been winning, the morale’s up. It’s a great group of guys. I’m fortunate enough I found a home here.

And with you getting that four-year contract, what was the internal message to you? It’s a sign of respect, good faith and trust from the organization. Coming from where you did, how do you process all of that?

I’m actually just super thankful and, honestly, kind of relieved, too. To go from year to year … those two-way contracts, they’re hard to get out of. Because with two-way contracts, there’s not a lot of opportunities. Then you’re in restricted free agency. It’s just tough, man. A lot of people go through it, and it’s hard. So, a lot of relief, a lot of thankfulness, honestly. I wouldn’t be able to get this contract without Rafael, Coach, the owners putting me in this position to succeed. Just a lot of thankfulness.