(Editor’s note: We are starting our individual reviews of all players from the Houston Rockets who finished the 2021-22 season with the team. To access other reviews as part of this ongoing series, click here.)
Rockets Player: Garrison Mathews, 6-foot-5 wing, 25 years old
2021-22 statistics in Houston: 10 points (39.9% FG, 36% on 3-pointers), 2.9 rebounds, 0.9 steals in 26.3 minutes
Professional Experience: 3 NBA seasons
Contract Status: Under contract through 2024-25 season at approximately $2 million annually, but each year is non-guaranteed
Based on having the NBA’s worst record in 2020-21, the Rockets used their position at the front of the league’s waiver wire to pick up Mathews when he was released by a deep Boston team following training camp.
The move quickly paid dividends. Mathews played a key role in Houston’s historic seven-game winning streak in December, and he ultimately averaging more than 26 minutes per game on the season.
Highlights
Analysis
Mathews doesn’t particularly make an impact as a defender or as a playmaker, so his value depends on his ability to make 3-pointers at high volume and space the floor for teammates Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green.
The volume part of that equation was certainly there. Mathews averaged more than eight 3-point attempts per 36 minutes. But the accuracy was often hit or miss. While his season-long clip (36%) was respectable, particularly for high volume, it was propped up by a hot start.
From the start of the season until the end of January (33 games), Mathews shot 38.2% from 3-point range. However, from February until the season’s end (32 games), his 3-point number dipped to 33.1%.
Outlook
Will the real “Garry Bird” please stand up? If it’s the version from the first half of the 2021-22 season — when he shot above 38% on 3-pointers, and at lofty volume — that’s a valuable rotation…
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