Brandon Roy Returns, But at What Cost?
Brandon Roy returned to action this week inspiring and reviving his Portland Trailblazers playoff hopes. In his return, the Rose Garden played the theme music to Rocky, and the Blazers pulled off a 96-87 victory. All was good in Blazerland. Roy had returned, albeit to a bench role, and the Blazers had tied the series with the Phoenix Suns at 2 games apiece
Game 5 however, was a rude awakening for the Blazers with Brandon Roy showing signs of rust, going 2-7 from the field and contributing 5 points and 4 fouls in 19:08. Yikes.
Is Roy's return to the Blazers detriment?
Sure Brandon Roy is the cornerstone of the Blazers having any chance of doing absolutely anything in the post season, but one must ask, at what cost does B Roy’s return have on the Blazers effectiveness?
Roy played somewhat like normal B Roy during game 4, but he was noneffective in game 5.
How unlikely is it that B Roy will be able to be anything like NBA All Star B Roy during this series?
Now, please don’t get me wrong. I am a huge fan of Brandon Roy. I hope for him to recover from his microscopic surgery and play well as much as anyone.
As a basketball purist, I have to take sides with the ideology that from a coaching standpoint I have to play the guys that are in absolute tip-top shape, and put my star under the microscope with a hyper quick evaluation process.
Is 20 minutes of mediocre-level B Roy worth sacrificing minutes for Rudy Fernandez. Jerryd Bayless or Martel Webster to have a chance at a breakout performance?
Surely Fernandez has struggled this year, but he is a mercurial talent who can flat out produce major long range damage from behind the arc.
Martel Webster is a strong defender, and he will never be Brandon Roy, but is it worth minimizing his potential to errupt in game 6? Webster also represents inside and outside scoring potential, as well as being a strong defender.
Additionally, both Webster and Fernandez are young talents who could benefit from more playoff experience this season. Who can argue this season that the Blazers have a chance this year without depth at the center position? There is no chance at an NBA title.
So why not let Roy recover fully so that next season he, Greg Oden, and Joel Pryzbilla can join a more experienced and tested roster to make a real go at it?
Does Nate McMillan and company really need 20 minutes of ineffective B Roy to know whether or not he will be effective?
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Tue, Apr 27, 2010 by Adam Sedie
NBA Playoffs, News