Lopez, Matthews hope to lead Portland Trail Blazers back to prominence

MANILA, Philippines – It felt like the moment would last forever.

The clock read 0.9 seconds left. Thousands at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon held their breaths. Millions of Portland Trail Blazers fans around the world did the same.

The Trail Blazers managed to go up 3-1 in their best-of-seven 2014 Western Conference first-round playoff matchup against the Rockets. But Houston won Game 5 in Texas, and in Game 6, they clawed and fought their way to earn a two-point lead with less than a second to go on the road.

Less than a second from forcing a decisive Game 7. Less than a second from making sure the series ends on their terms back at the Toyota Center in front of their fans. Less than a second from depriving the Trail Blazers, which has suffered so many heartbreaks, from ending their 14-year second round drought.

Chandler Parsons was the guy assigned to man Damian Lillard, the one who would most likely take the shot that would determine if the Blazers would pack their bags for either San Antonio or Dallas, or for a trip back to H-Town. But all it took for the second-year rising Trail Blazers star was a blink of an eye to accelerate past Parsons. And once he did, the Rockets small forward was left in the dust.

James Harden made another defensive lapse, which he has committed so often in his NBA career. Instead of switching out and catching Lillard, he stayed with Wesley Matthews, unaware of what was about to take place.

By the time Parsons caught up to Lillard, he was already too late. The shot was off, and Lillard was already descending back to the earth. The ball was in the air.

The shot was good. Tears started to fall down the cheeks of Blazers fans. The Moda Center turned into a ruckus. The ground looked like it was shaking with all the screams, cheers, and celebration taking place. Lillard pumped his chest, and rightfully so; he was the hero of the night, and he had just etched his name in the history books of the NBA. A game winning 3-pointer to win a playoff series at the buzzer – how many NBA players can say they’ve done that in their lives? 

ESPN’s Mike Tirico screamed at the top of his lungs, “AND THE BLAZERS WIN THE SERIES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 14 YEARS!”

If any franchise in the NBA deserved to celebrate such a moment, it’s the Trail Blazers. After all the heart-wrenching defeats and after all the times having to watch their star players crumble to the ground with unforgiving injuries, Portland attained a positive memory to remember for a lifetime. 

A helping hand

“They’re the best fans in the NBA, without any question,” said Robin Lopez.

Sporting a simple but classy look comprised of a polo shirt, shorts, flip-flops, and a fedora hat, Lopez looked like an every surfer dude from California, where he grew up along with three brothers, as he talked to the media at the NBA Café in SM Aura, Taguig, on Wednesday, September 10.

“I’ve never heard it so loud in NBA arenas,” added the former Stanford center, who played for the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Hornets (now called the Pelicans) before being traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in the summer of 2013.

“Especially in Game 6 when Dame hit that shot… unbelievable,” he mentioned, as he remembered the intensity and craziness of Game 6’s conclusion. “I think the right team won [that series].”

Along with his teammate, Wesley Matthews, and former NBA Coach of the Year Avery Johnson, Lopez is in the Philippines to help some of the areas in Cebu damaged by Typhoon Yolanda.

During the interview, Lopez talked about his excitement over getting to help those who have been devastated by the natural disaster, which was the same sentiment shared by his teammate.

“There’s nothing in my life that, in any way, I could relate to that,” the big man said. “When I saw the tragedy on television, I was moved an ocean away. It’s not really anything I can put into words, and I don’t really think there’s a way to prepare for that.”

Nearly a year after Yolanda hit the Philippines, the effects of the tragedy are still felt in major areas. Some places still need aid in order to get back to the way it was before Mother Nature struck, and Lopez says he is “excited” to contribute in any way he can to make that happen.

“The only thing that comes to mind is going there and getting ready to have a good time. I think it’s wonderful the way tragedies bring people together; they unite people to lift themselves up, and I’m excited to be a part of that.”

“I’m so excited,” he said again. “You can’t really know what to expect ‘til you get there, but I’m so glad to be a part of it.”

Matthew took it a step further by saying he hopes the presence of the three NBA guests will provide an enough distraction to make those affected by Yolanda forget about the unfortunate circumstances of life, even just for a little while.

“Just try to remove them from the heartache, the hard times, and just give them a little bit of excitement; just a distraction. Even if they don’t know who we are, even if they don’t know what we do… just a distraction,” said the Trail Blazers starting shooting guard, who, surprisingly, mentioned that the experience is going to be a learning process for him as well.

“I’m excited about it and I’m going to learn, I’m going to grow from it. It’s going to be equally beneficial to me as it will be to those people.”

The Underdog

Matthews is no stranger to tough circumstances. He didn’t have to struggle for his life after getting hit by a typhoon like some of those he will seek to help this weekend, but he has faced his own set of challenges before becoming a favorite in Portland and earning a reputation of being one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA.

“Throughout my whole career I’ve never been given anything,” shared Matthews, who also talked to the media at NBA Café, the first of its kind in the world. 

“I’ve always been the underdog; I’ve always been overlooked. I was highly recruited out of high school, but never really to the point to where I thought I should have been.”

Matthews played his college ball at Marquette University for four years. In his senior season, he averaged 18.6 PPG and 5.4 RPG but went undrafted in the 2009 NBA Draft.

Despite his cheerful character, Matthews didn’t try to hide his emotion and disappointment over not being drafted, which he still carries as a chip on his shoulder until this day.

“I always had that underdog edge. That mentality, that fire, so when draft night came, my name wasn’t called, I was upset because I felt that I did enough to get called,” he said.

“During the workouts, I outplayed those guys whose names were called. I knew I belonged. I knew I was better than some of those guys. I knew I should have been called that night,” added Matthews, who sounded convinced that he deserved to be called more than some others. 

“I was mad; I was every kind of negative.”

The negativity didn’t last long. A few months later, Matthews would be on an NBA roster entering the season.

“I just looked at it as ‘here we go again,’ this is what my story has been up to this point. There’s no reason for it to change now. Utah (Jazz) called with a chance to go to training camp, and I was going to make them keep another spot.”

And he made them do so, as he averaged 9.4 PPG in 24 MPG of action. That following summer, Portland called and offered him a five-year, $34 million contract, which he more than lived up to as he increased his scoring to 15.9 PPG while shooting 40% from 3-point range in the 2010-2011 NBA season. His averages remained constant in the succeeding years, too, making him a household favorite among Trail Blazers fans and a threat on scouting reports of opposing teams.

But more than that, Matthews has become the team’s designated stopper on defense. Against the Rockets, he was assigned to defend James Harden, who shot just 38% from the field in six games against Portland.

“That was something that was instilled with me at a young age,” shared Matthews. “My mom always told me to guard the best player, no matter who it was. To be called on and do that at this level, it’s nothing new; it’s almost expected.”

“I’m mad if I don’t, so that’s definitely something I take pride in. I hate getting scored on, I hate that feeling of letting the team down. I know it’s not realistic that someone’s not going to score, but I’m going to make it as difficult as possible.”

Going Forward

Throughout the afternoon at NBA Café for their session with the media, Lopez and Matthews were in high spirits. The latter walked around with a huge stuffed toy that looked exactly like Ted from the movie with the same name in his backpack, which automatically earned the attention and envy of many at the restaurant.

Lopez, meanwhile, made jokes on something about a “kitchen” while his teammate was being interviewed, which immediately drew laughter from the audience.

Both players also both photo-bombed selfies. In some instances, they were the ones who took selfies with fans. Lopez even talked about taking Andray Blatche’s spot as Gilas Pilipinas’ naturalized import. 

When he was asked who would win between him and the former Brooklyn Net in a game of one-on-one, he just said, “Andray in the Philippines might not be too happy about it,” before changing tune and joking: “But I’m going to give him buckets.”

However, when it was time to talk about the future of the Trail Blazers, the jokes were over. 

Both guys are optimistic about what the team can accomplish this season, and by the sound of their voice, they’re pretty confident as well.

“Yeah, we do. I think if we didn’t, there’d be no reason for us to be playing in the NBA,” Lopez answered when asked if Portland, which lost 4-1 to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semis last postseason, considers itself a title contender.

“We had a successful season last year. I think we’re ready to build upon that. We made great moves in the offseason and we’re ready to take that next step – it’s going to take a lot of work though,” according to Lopez.

Matthews prefers to view it differently, saying, “We’re not going to put a number. We haven’t even entered training camp yet.”

But like Lopez, the goal is clear for the former Marquette Golden Eagle. “We’re excited with the group that we have. I feel like we’ve addressed some of our needs, some of our concerns, and we just got a stronger team.”

“We’re strong from who we’ve added, we’re stronger from what we endured last year, what we learned from last year. And we’re going to continue to grow, continue to get better, and continue to push.”

How strong are the Trail Blazers? Matthews was kind enough to say just how much during a word association game.

“Terry Slotts?”

“An offensive coach,” he said.

“Robin Lopez?”

“Hard-worker.”

How about Lamarcus Aldridge?

“A problem,” which he also used to describe Lillard.

“Nicolas Batum?”

“A tool box. He does everything.”

How about “Rip City?”

“A movement.”

And last but not the least, a question that had to be asked:

“How about James Harden’s defense?”

With a quick smirk, Matthews just said: “No comment.” – Rappler.com