Lakers’ Wes Matthews Out vs. Nets Because of Achilles Injury

Ashley Landis/Associated Press

Los Angeles Lakers wing Wesley Matthews will miss his team’s road game against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday with right Achilles tendon tightness, the team announced.

Matthews is in his first season with the Lakers after signing a one-year, $3.6 million deal in the offseason.

The 34-year-old has bounced around quite a bit in his career, playing for seven different organizations. Los Angeles is his fifth team in the last three seasons.

So far in 2020-21, Matthews is averaging 4.8 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.

The 12-year NBA veteran hasn’t always turned heads, but he’s been a reliable player who has averaged 13.1 points over his career to go with 38.1 percent shooting from deep entering this season.

He had seen limited team success in his career, although he was a valuable part of the Milwaukee Bucks rotation in 2019-20, starting every game he played for a team that finished with the NBA’s best record.

Of course, Milwaukee was eventually eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and Matthews has still never made it out of the second round of the playoffs.

He is hoping for more success this year with the Lakers, but the latest injury could be a setback. Talen Horton-Tucker should see more minutes with Matthews unavailable, providing valuable depth for a team with high expectations.