In 120-117 with which the yellow-violet won the night on the New Orleans Pelicans the decisive hand was put by the 25-year-old guard, a year and a half ago a worker at his grandfather’s cemetery.
“We can be heroes, just for one day”, sang David Bowie. Never as this time the tune of one of the most iconic songs of the White Duke rightly comes to the rescue to describe NBA hero of the night, Matt Ryan. The most unlikely of all. With a triple mermaid built in a very small space, with his feet just beyond the arch and not far from the baseline, the boy native of White Plains, New York perhaps gave himself the greatest joy of the careerat the same time giving a timid hope to his fans and making LeBron James breathe a sigh of relief.
Up to 1.3 seconds from the Los Angeles Lakers-New Orleans Pelicans regulation siren, in fact, in Cryptoarena.com, the home crowd was already enjoying yet another defeat of the yellow-purple seasonwithout even the time to enjoy the timid turnaround that the 48-hour earlier victory against the Nuggets foreshadowed, with the new technical lymph and motivation of a sixth-man version of Russell Westbrook and a team that, even without shooters, had guessed an evening of grace from the perimeter that was worth the unexpected success.
On 111-108 for Zion and teammates, with 1.3 seconds to play, with a scheme designed by coach Darvin Ham andperfect execution of Austin Reaves throw-inthe ball landed right in the opposite corner and in the hands of Matt Ryan, who got up falling with his body towards the outside of the field and letting go the triple of 111 all, who sent the teams to extra time then won by hosts.
The NBA restarts as it ended: Steph Curry show, 33 points and Lakers beaten
A story worthy of an Oscar
After switching 3 colleges within 5 years (Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and Chattanooga), this boy born in 1997 he had now completely given up on the idea of landing in the NBA and turn his passion into a real job. To the point that in order to earn a living Matt had first started a working in the cemetery owned by his grandfather, then working as a delivery boy for DoorDash, cultivating the dream of the American league in his spare free time, with his trusty bag prepared in the morning before work and which accompanied him throughout his days. In the 2020 draft his name is not associated with any of the 30 franchises and for Matt begins the shuttle between the minor leagues and time contracts.
The Cleveland Cavs sign him for the Summer League, and despite the good feelings given above all to shooting, Matt is not confirmed in the roster for the season. He gets a close call from the Denver Nuggets, but here too the epilogue is the same: cut. Between Grand Rapids Gold, a franchise of the development league (the G-League) and the chance in February to play with a two-way contract per i Boston Celtics, Matt glimpses a timid hope. He only plays the last game of the season against Memphis, also scoring a triple of the six attempts, but Boston cannot join him with the team that will play the Playoffs and therefore, at the end of the regular season, Matt is back for a walk. Just the Celtics give him back the showcase of the Summer League, in which definitely puts himself on the map of the league with the match against the Bucks last July, in which he scored 23 points with 6 triples including the one, in the table, which was decisive for the victory.
Not enough in Boston, but on the other side of America it intrigues the technical staff of the Lakers, desperate for shooters to be placed on the perimeter for LeBron’s exhausts. Matt starts with an unsecured contract which is then converted into a year-round agreement after a brilliant pre-season seasoned by 37.5% from the arc and a game of 20 points and 6 triples.
He plays just over 10 minutes per game, takes about 3 triples in the evening, scoring half of them (he converts them with 45%), until the explosion a few hours ago, which could open the doors to yet another chapter of a story to be dream. In a team with so many problems and technical limitations and where such a shooter can only make the fortunes of LeBron James, it is safe to bet that from tonight Ryan will be getting more and more into the game. In the hearts of all the fans, not just Lakers, his story has already made its way.
