The Dallas Mavericks are taking their time with newly acquired shooting guard Wesley Matthews as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon suffered last season. Matthews’ realistic timeline is reported to be around Christmas Day, but Matthews himself is working towards being ready for the Mavs’ season opener on Oct. 28.
From Tim McMahon of ESPN:
“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.”
McMahon reports that Matthews has been cleared for everything except contact at training camp. There’s a significant role waiting for Matthews upon his return. He is slated to be the primary shooting guard for the Mavericks and a much-needed presence in the scoring department. It won’t be until Matthews and Chandler Parsons are both fully healthy and on the floor until the Mavericks can start to develop their full potential.
