"Garry Bird" Taking Flight with the hawks

February will mark two years since Atlanta Hawks’ Garrison Mathews got the notification that he would be traded to the Atlanta Hawks from the Houston Rockets. 28 year-old Garrison, who at the time wasn’t even on Twitter, reactivated his account to see trade updates. For him, the memory of coming to Atlanta was one to start many changes. “Nate (McMillan) obviously getting fired two days into me being here and, yeah, Quin (Snyder) comes in. You know Quin's, he's doing a great job…He's got us going in the right direction. We're getting better. Love everything he brings to this team, you know, from our system to the way he coaches guys, his communication, everything.”
In his early days on the team, Garrison could be heard on the practice courts due to his intense post-practice workouts. He would draw attention from media due to his reactions to missed practice shots. Over time, it appeared that he progressively changed how he reacted during those post-practice runs. “I remember Kyle (Korver) sat me down one day and said, ‘When you look at when you evaluate guys, you look at what possible things could keep them out of the league, whether it be an injury or whatever.’ It's obviously me staying healthy within my head, like being able to not have these outbursts and not be in a negative attitude and just the ability to move on to the next shot, next play, whatever.” Garrison referenced his conversation with Kyle as the turning point to when he started to work on getting better at controlling his reactions. His role with the Hawks has since evolved, along with his game.
During his time in Houston, Garrison attempted slightly more threes (averaging 8.4 in Houston vs 8.1 with Atlanta) but he has improved his shooting percentage from three (38.7% with Houston vs 43% with Atlanta) while also changing his shot profile. “Obviously, he can make shots. It’s different, though, to be able to shoot on the move, to shoot quickly. All shots are not created equal and they measure that. So he’s able to make contested shots and I think, because of that, the way the defense has to play him allows for a kind of progression in his game.” Garrison is shooting 63.9% TS so far in his time with Atlanta, higher than his time with Houston.
As Garrison began draining threes for Atlanta, that familiar nickname of “Garry Bird” from his Houston days resurfaced. When asked about his thoughts on the nickname, Garrison let it be known that the reference comes with high expectations for him. “That was like three years ago. I don’t know, you're talking about Larry Bird. Somebody you can’t…it’s Larry Bird. That’s all I gotta say. He's one of the best players in the game, and it's pretty hard to fill his shoes. So I don’t know how he’d feel about that.” Garrison said it’s “always a compliment” but recognized that’s a tall order to fulfill.
Though he may not be Larry Bird levels on the court just yet, Garrison’s shooting is pretty on the money. He’s fourth on the team in three-point percentage but, out of those top four, has played the most amount of games and averages the third most minutes.
As money as his shot is on the court, Garrison is constantly trying to make his money off the court work for him. He’s been into investing for the last few years. Although his dad has invested for quite some time, Garrison was never really interested in it until a few years ago. “And then, for some reason, you know, over the last few years, I've done to study it, something me and my dad do together. My girlfriend's dad, he’s big into it, so it's something for me to do with him, and I've learned over the last few years and studied it so it's it's kind of more of a hobby for me to do something outside of basketball.” Garrison doesn’t claim to be an expert in any way, shape or form so he wouldn’t give any advice for someone interested in getting into the investment industry, “Nah, I ain't got no tips. I don’t want to lose your money.”
Garrison is investing in himself on and off the court.
In his early days on the team, Garrison could be heard on the practice courts due to his intense post-practice workouts. He would draw attention from media due to his reactions to missed practice shots. Over time, it appeared that he progressively changed how he reacted during those post-practice runs. “I remember Kyle (Korver) sat me down one day and said, ‘When you look at when you evaluate guys, you look at what possible things could keep them out of the league, whether it be an injury or whatever.’ It's obviously me staying healthy within my head, like being able to not have these outbursts and not be in a negative attitude and just the ability to move on to the next shot, next play, whatever.” Garrison referenced his conversation with Kyle as the turning point to when he started to work on getting better at controlling his reactions. His role with the Hawks has since evolved, along with his game.
During his time in Houston, Garrison attempted slightly more threes (averaging 8.4 in Houston vs 8.1 with Atlanta) but he has improved his shooting percentage from three (38.7% with Houston vs 43% with Atlanta) while also changing his shot profile. “Obviously, he can make shots. It’s different, though, to be able to shoot on the move, to shoot quickly. All shots are not created equal and they measure that. So he’s able to make contested shots and I think, because of that, the way the defense has to play him allows for a kind of progression in his game.” Garrison is shooting 63.9% TS so far in his time with Atlanta, higher than his time with Houston.
As Garrison began draining threes for Atlanta, that familiar nickname of “Garry Bird” from his Houston days resurfaced. When asked about his thoughts on the nickname, Garrison let it be known that the reference comes with high expectations for him. “That was like three years ago. I don’t know, you're talking about Larry Bird. Somebody you can’t…it’s Larry Bird. That’s all I gotta say. He's one of the best players in the game, and it's pretty hard to fill his shoes. So I don’t know how he’d feel about that.” Garrison said it’s “always a compliment” but recognized that’s a tall order to fulfill.
Though he may not be Larry Bird levels on the court just yet, Garrison’s shooting is pretty on the money. He’s fourth on the team in three-point percentage but, out of those top four, has played the most amount of games and averages the third most minutes.
As money as his shot is on the court, Garrison is constantly trying to make his money off the court work for him. He’s been into investing for the last few years. Although his dad has invested for quite some time, Garrison was never really interested in it until a few years ago. “And then, for some reason, you know, over the last few years, I've done to study it, something me and my dad do together. My girlfriend's dad, he’s big into it, so it's something for me to do with him, and I've learned over the last few years and studied it so it's it's kind of more of a hobby for me to do something outside of basketball.” Garrison doesn’t claim to be an expert in any way, shape or form so he wouldn’t give any advice for someone interested in getting into the investment industry, “Nah, I ain't got no tips. I don’t want to lose your money.”
Garrison is investing in himself on and off the court.