Wesley Matthews more than survived his crash course debut with the Indiana Pacers

Wesley Matthews scored 8 points in his debut with the Indiana Pacers, but he is capable of more as he finds his role within the team.

Wesley Matthews must have felt like Helmuth von Moltke the Elder in his debut with the Indiana Pacers. The 19th-century German field marshal was once quoted that “no plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first contact with the main hostile force,” which in Matthews’ case, was the Charlotte Hornets.

Despite whatever the Pacers and Nate McMillan worked on in their short time with their new teammate, it didn’t translate to the court, at least as far as the plays that were drawn up.

“We didn’t run any of the plays that we walked through, that I walked through, so I’m going to have to talk to him about that,” Matthews joked with Fox Sports Indiana’s Jeremiah Johnson after the game.

While Matthews was a little mixed up in his first game with his new team, he still managed to score 8 points after missing his first six shots with the Pacers, finishing the night 2 of 10. But both of his made baskets came from beyond the arc and Wesley also had 5 rebounds and 3 assists, so it wasn’t as if he was lost out there on the floor.

And after all, he couldn’t have picked a better time to knock down his first field goal with the Pacers. The Hornets kept themselves within striking distance, but Matthews 3-pointer began pushing the door shut on Charlotte’s hopes.

https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1095143512725700608

Not that anyone is reading too much into one game with a new team, but one encouraging sign is he made shots outside of his usual hot spots. Over time, you would expect some of those shots that couldn’t find the bottom of the net on Monday eventually will.

And it’s worth noting seven of his shots were 3-points. It’s a small sample size, but it matches with his season averages. If he keeps it up, he’ll be the clear leader among Pacers in 3-point attempts, at least on a per game average.

One of the other positive signs from his first game was his defense. While he isn’t expected to lock anyone down, he fit into coach Nate McMillan’s defense scheme nicely on Monday.

In time, those plays the Pacers went over will pop in the game. Eventually, the shots will fall for Wesley Matthews.

We’re a long way from knowing just how well Wesley Matthews fits in with these Indiana Pacers, but he survived his crash course debut.