When Zion Williamson's highly-touted New Orleans Pelicans began the season, Karlo Matkovic was not included as a key rotational piece. However, through sheer effort, physicality and an infectious team-first mentality, the young big man has put James Borrego in a welcome dilemma.
Matkovic's steady growth from a fringe option to a reliable contributor has complicated lineup options, especially with multiple productive big men competing for minutes.
Matkovic is flirting with 10-point and 10-rebound nights more often, while shooting 46% from 3-point range (1.2 attempts per game). As of February 23, he has had at least two blocks in three of his last eight games. It is impossible to ignore the 24-year-old Croatian's recent performances.
“He's making it hard for me,” Borrego told ClutchPoints. "It's hard to decide who we're going to play with, who we're not going to play with. We have a lot of guys that are playing well in the front court with (Derrick Queen, Yves Missy) and Carlo. (Kevon Looney) is a professional and he's been there; then there's also (Zion Williamson). Still, Carlo continues to impress on me through his effort, his physicality, his size and his ability to be a two-way player. Keeps pressing. Offensively, (Matkovic) plays with great pace, gets up the floor and can make threes.
However, what separates Matkovic from a typical young player fighting for minutes goes beyond the box score. Borrego has been particularly impressed with what the big man brings to the less measurable areas of the game.
"It's all the intangibles, too. (Matkovic) doesn't care if he scores or gets credit. That's what you want to be as a team," Borrego said. "Carlo is a team-first person."
Matkovic's emergence has largely come through consistent energy and reliability rather than headline-grabbing stat lines. Borrego suggests that that selfless character did not happen by accident.
Borrego admitted, "Somewhere at home, someone taught him well; he was raised well. He was coached well, and he has a sense of selflessness and a sense of team that I really like." “It reflects in his play, and he continues to play with great confidence.”
Matkovic was not projected to be a regular part of the rotation when the season began. Yet every time he steps onto the floor, he gets another chance... and then another.
The Pelicans are crazy about Karlo Matkovic
Confidence, in fact, has been one of the most visible developments in Matkovic's game as the workload has increased. The more he plays, the more natural he looks in an NBA setting.
“As you said, (Matkovic) looks more comfortable with more minutes,” Borrego acknowledged. "He's earned it. It's not been given to him. He wasn't projected to start this season, but we put him in there. I trust him and believe in him. He knows that, and I don't see him losing."
Matkovic, the 52nd overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, has offered an intriguing blend of modern big man skills. At 6-foot-10 with legitimate shooting range, he adds a cool, unselfish credibility that coaches want. If the Pelicans don't pick up the $2.2 million club option, at least one team will value those attributes in free agency this summer.
Borrego doesn't hide how much he values that last part. In a league where egos can derail the locker room, Matkovic's willingness to do the dirty work without needing the spotlight has made him a favorite of both the coaching staff and his teammates. The coach's "difficult" decision is unlikely to be easy.
As long as Matkovic continues to bring the same effort, physicality and team-first mentality every night, the rebuilding Pelicans will need to keep finding ways to get him on the floor because right now, giving up on him feels like the wrong choice in both the short and long term. In a league always looking for shooting, size and unselfishness, Karlo Matkovic is proving to be a rare combination of all three. And he's making James Borrego's job extremely difficult in the process.
