Trail Blazers starter Wesley Matthews tore his left Achilles tendon Thursday night and will miss the rest of the season, the team announced. This is a huge blow for the Blazers as Matthews has all star level type talent and contributes in big ways for the Blazers. In his absence, newly acquired Arron Afflalo will need to step up more than anticipated.
@IamJoeSports
Matthews had to be helped off the court after suffering the injury in the Trail Blazers’ 94-75 win over the Dallas Mavericks. He had four points, one rebound and three assists in 18 minutes before exiting.
He went down without contact when he attempted to drive two minutes into the third quarter. He immediately reached for his left Achilles as he grimaced in pain.
“It’s disbelief, you know?” he told reporters after an MRI confirmed the rupture. “I’m sitting up there in that tube having an MRI, and I don’t hear noise, I don’t feel my Achilles, I’m just … . I can’t believe I’m up there while my team’s battling. I just haven’t processed all of it yet.”
“I’ve made that same cut hundreds of thousands of times in my life,” he said. “I felt the initial pop, and I think you guys could tell on the replay, I looked back, and it feels like someone kicked you. I was praying that someone was back there. No one was back there, and I heard Ron [Garretson], the ref, he actually says, ‘Oh no’ like he knew.”
We wish Matthews a speedy recovery and a great rehab. Such a touhh break for the Blazers, who already were going to have a hard time going deep in the playoffs in the west.
Joe Casey @IamJoeSports
