Is Garrison Mathews a role player or a future Star?

[Andrewu91]

With Luka out until mid-late first round, Garrison Mathews has stepped up in his place. He may not be as good of a defender, passer, rebounder, but what he does is shoot the lights out.

Since the offense has switched to balanced, Garrison Mathews has averaged 21.5ppg on great percentages. He isn't done with his potential either. Right now he has 77 scoring which could become 82-85 scoring in the future.

It's a shame he has to be next to Juwan Evans, who has been taking shots away from Mathews.

Going forward, the Knicks plan on limiting players minutes and letting other players get a chance.

One of those players is Juwan Morgan. With bird rights, the Knicks plan on re-signing him. His defense is for real and he can be a perfect third string forward.

Another player that I have mentioned before is Juwan Evans. He's basically playing like Luka Doncic but without the preference work done. He will be key going forward next season. We will fix him and he will be decent in case Luka Doncic gets injured again.

Deng Adel has been getting some burn which is great to see. He's definitely a solid backup.

Last but not least is Tim Williams. If you want a player who can score at will and on a cheap contract(500k,) he's the perfect guy for a spark off the bench.

Either way, we suck and we know it. I'm hoping this all turns around in the play in(playoffs) and the Knicks can survive a scary Eastern Conference.

[mgtr81]

He is an excellent scorer from the perimeter, but his lack of handles will prevent him to expand that role. However, next to Doncic he can form a great offensive duo. They can complement each other pretty well, I think.

[andrei]

I don't get how a player with his ratings is so passive. He has the scoring and passing rating/action to launch them more but he doesn't. I have the same issue with Kennard and don't get why. I mean 77 scoring rating and 5 shots per 18 minutes is crazy low

[KW]

I don't get how a player with his ratings is so passive. He has the scoring and passing rating/action to launch them more but he doesn't. I have the same issue with Kennard and don't get why. I mean 77 scoring rating and 5 shots per 18 minutes is crazy low

Evans being the only healthy ball handler is almost definitely the issue there. He's awful

[cb4raptorscb4]

He can definitely score but needs to be more agressive. The fact he only averaged 19 ppg in the DLeague last year is concerning (I'd think he'd put up 30 a game)

[hardenwithnod]

I feel like in this engine it's just too difficult to generate shots for outside gunners. Feels like all the big time scorers are either post oriented, or has a good enough mix from all 3 levels in order to generate shots.

[GreenBear]

I don’t know what Mathews’ floor ranges are, but we discovered last engine that a guard/wing’s shot volume is definitely increased by spending a healthy amount of time in the paint. That principle still applies. The difference is that efficiency for a lot of those guards/wings took a nose dive if they spent too much time in the paint in this current engine.

From purely looking at Mathews' html stats, I'd guess that he spends a vast majority of his time behind the arc.

Gary is correct that there’s a lower ceiling of shot volume for guys that are pure 3-point gunners, even if they have high SCR ratings. Conversely, if you have a guard that can score at all 3 levels, he can way outperform his SCR rating and pass ball action.

[cb4raptorscb4]

I feel like in this engine it's just too difficult to generate shots for outside gunners. Feels like all the big time scorers are either post oriented, or has a good enough mix from all 3 levels in order to generate shots.

For sure. I know Layman took a huge hit in the engine switch.

[andrei]

I don’t know what Mathews’ floor ranges are, but we discovered last engine that a guard/wing’s shot volume is definitely increased by spending a healthy amount of time in the paint. That principle still applies. The difference is that efficiency for a lot of those guards/wings took a nose dive if they spent too much time in the paint in this current engine.

From purely looking at Mathews' html stats, I'd guess that he spends a vast majority of his time behind the arc.

Gary is correct that there’s a lower ceiling of shot volume for guys that are pure 3-point gunners, even if they have high SCR ratings. Conversely, if you have a guard that can score at all 3 levels, he can way outperform his SCR rating and pass ball action.

Could someone please inform Malik Monk about this? Bastard shot 23 times against us last time

Whats the difference between Monk and Mathews? I mean pro-rated why does he not shoot as much? Is it just PG play

[GreenBear]

Could someone please inform Malik Monk about this? Bastard shot 23 times against us last time

Whats the difference between Monk and Mathews? I mean pro-rated why does he not shoot as much? Is it just PG play

Honestly, I’d have to be looking at them in-game to be able to have the full picture and give a more accurate assessment. There’s only so much I can tell by looking at html.

But my gut response is that Monk has 11 higher SCR, 6 higher PAS, and is in his prime versus Mathews being just a sophomore. I don’t know off-hand what their ball actions or floor ranges are to compare.

But Monk is “only” averaging 17.3 FGAs per game, which is actually pretty low for what you’d expect for someone with his ratings. He’s incredibly efficient though, so it seems like he shoots more. Compare that to a Jarrett Culver (22.2 FGAs per game). Again, I don’t know their passing ball actions off-hand to compare, but I can see in the html that Culver takes almost all his shots inside the arc, with a healthy amount coming from inside the paint (57% of attempts).

Also, Mathews’ last 4 games (games he’s started and without Luka), he’s averaged 13.25 FGAs per game. That’s not that far off Monk’s averages, especially when considering Monk’s advantages.

[hardenwithnod]

Yeah, Monk is just ridiculously efficient and with so much of his preference at ATB, I assume that Monk's ATB rating is probably ridiculously high. Probably the highest in the league, and that's probably why he scores that much as a pure shooter. I know it's near impossible to get corner shooters high volume. Not sure about ATB, as that rating tends to be lower in the past (up until the last 2 draft classes where we started to see a lot more guys with a higher than average ATB rating)

[KW]

Doug covered most of it but not all. Mathews can't run point, so that reduces touches right there. Mathews plays with the most ball-dominant player in the league, so that reduces touches. Mathews also has a catch&shoot percentage of 28%... doesn't drive, pulls up a little bit. Being that much of a C&S guy means you're playing off the ball and other players have to pass it to you. when Luka isn't playing they lack passers.

that said, Mathews shot 13, 16, and 16 times his last three games so maybe it's going to happen for him down the stretch without Luka. But it also might not because Jawun Evans is a terrible PG.

[mgtr81]

It's a bit complex, but most of it has been covered. It also depends on strats, teammates on the floor at the same time, who is guarding him from the other team (that's one of the two things where the DEF rating has an actual impact) and I'd say that's it.

[Andrewu91]

With Juwan Evans starting tonight, Mathews just scored 25 on 16 shots.

I'm thinking moving my offense from post to balanced helped him shoot more.

[Marcos_Beck]

Perfect explanation here, even Steph Curry, NBA's GOAT shooter, takes about 40% of his shots from inside the arc.

[Andrewu91]

He is an excellent scorer from the perimeter, but his lack of handles will prevent him to expand that role. However, next to Doncic he can form a great offensive duo. They can complement each other pretty well, I think.

I hope so with his endurance boost next season.

He stepped up in these playoffs averaging 17ppg on great %. Probably has to do with Luka being out, but Luka came back and Mathews still did very well. I'm hoping with more potential he can be a super 6th man like Klay when I had him, or even a starter.
Luka(22 assists) mainly to Mathews and Allen last game. Some excitement to look forward to next season.

[Dennis]

He is an excellent scorer from the perimeter, but his lack of handles will prevent him to expand that role. However, next to Doncic he can form a great offensive duo. They can complement each other pretty well, I think.

I hope so with his endurance boost next season.

He stepped up in these playoffs averaging 17ppg on great %. Probably has to do with Luka being out, but Luka came back and Mathews still did very well. I'm hoping with more potential he can be a super 6th man like Klay when I had him, or even a starter.
Luka(22 assists) mainly to Mathews and Allen last game. Some excitement to look forward to next season.

he played a bad team

[Andrewu91]

He is an excellent scorer from the perimeter, but his lack of handles will prevent him to expand that role. However, next to Doncic he can form a great offensive duo. They can complement each other pretty well, I think.

I hope so with his endurance boost next season.

He stepped up in these playoffs averaging 17ppg on great %. Probably has to do with Luka being out, but Luka came back and Mathews still did very well. I'm hoping with more potential he can be a super 6th man like Klay when I had him, or even a starter.
Luka(22 assists) mainly to Mathews and Allen last game. Some excitement to look forward to next season.

he played a bad team

Debbie downer