I know he was Rookie of the Year and a 2 time all-star, but is it just me or does Brandon Roy still seem to be WAY underrated and under appreciated? I think given my expectation at the beginning of the year, he is already in where I thought his "ceiling" would be.... Where you guys at with this?
Yeah, I wrote a thread about this earlier. I think even the highest praise given to this guy has not been enough. I honestly believe he is going to be a Tim Duncan shooting guard. No douchebag attitude, not a very flashy game, just gets the job done and wins championships.
Roy played like MJ tonight. Even though he had a slow slow start, he still took over the game when it mattered and suddenly finished with 31 points. Roy will win at least one MVP award in his career. There's no doubt in my mind. And his scoring average will jump up to 25 ppg next season.
As long as there are players named Wade, Lebron, and Paul in this league I doubt Roy will ever win MVP. I see him having a Mitch Richmond type career. He could win multiple Finals MVP's though.
Mitch Richmond career?!!!?? Mitch led his teams to losing season after losing season. I think he only played in the playoffs twice and one of the times it was as a scrub for the Lakers. Roy is WORLD's better than Mitch Richmond ever was and Roy is only getting better. Look. Wade, LeBron, and Paul were all in the league when Dirk won MVP. Wade and LeBron were in the NBA when Nash won MVP TWICE. Dirk and Nash did it because their team won. If the Blazers take the top seed next season or the season after, Brandon will win MVP. You overrate Chris Paul when it comes to Brandon Roy. Paul has an All Star teammate and yet his team has about the same record as Roy's team. Roy is the 8th top scorer in the league in only his third season and we play less possessions per game than most teams, no? Look for Roy to bring his scoring up to 25 ppg next season and for it to stay there for most of his career. I would bet $1000 that Brandon will a regular season MVP before the end of his career.
Okay, first of all, I doubt Jordan would have been able to carry those awful Kings teams. Mitch Richmond is actually a very good player and if you look at his stats they are comparable. Now for the second part of your post Wade and Paul had both missed significant time the year Dirk won it. Dirk was also putting up phenomenal stats and had a great team record. So was Nash. I doubt Roy will ever but up stats like that to ever be able to win it. I would take that bet in a heartbeat.
A) Mitch put up stats on a losing team. SOMEONE had to score the points on that horrible team. And so it was him. But he did nothing to make his teammates better or help his team win. B) Roy is the 8th best scorer in the league and is only in his third year. C) Like I said, Roy will win it because we will have a great record. Either next year, the year after that, or the year after that, the Blazers will win 60 games. And when that happens, Roy will win MVP. D) Comparing Roy to Mitch Richmond is a serious insult to Brandon. Mitch did nothing for the Kings. Brandon has a team of kids who are mostly in their early twenties. None of them have played in an All Star game and only one of them has been in the playoffs. And YET-- he has them at 41-24, only ONE game out of THIRD PLACE in the ENTIRE WEST. While he won't win it, Brandon will get MVP votes THIS YEAR. Book it. PM me if you want the $1000 bet. Here's how it goes. If Roy wins MVP at any point during his career, you pay me $1000. If Roy retires having never won an MVP award, I pay you $1000.
I didn't say Roy is Mitch Richmond. I said I think he'll have a Mitch Richmond type career(as in per game numbers, career numbers). Those King's teams being so horrible was not Richmond's fault. Team record and success has a lot more to do with team play rather than one player's role. Richmond was a very good player, I doubt Jordan would have been able to carry those awful Kings teams. How you find it is a slight to Brandon Roy is beyond me. Who should I compare him to? Jordan? Kobe? Those guys are above Brandon's level. Roy's team could very well win 60 games, they might not, even if they do there is no reason to think that Lebron's teams, Wade's team, Paul's team, or hell let's throw in Durant's team can't do the same. Those guys will all most likely have better stats than Brandon their entire careers. Saying Brandon could do this, or he could that, is just wishful thinking. Yeah he will get some votes. Some 5th place votes Go ahead PM me, I'll take the bet, but I'll doubt you remember.
This is a comparison of Richmond and Roy at this time in their careers: Roy Vs Richomond in 3rd year They are closer then I thought they would be. The only clear advantage for Roy is in the advanced stats in 4th section on the page. Otherwise they are either even or Richmond is slightly better. One reason is probably that the 1989 King's game pace was way, way higher then the 2009 Blazers pace, giving Mitch more chances at assists, points and rebounds. The bottom stats attempt to make game pace a non-factor. When comparing players, basketball-reference is HUGE. I play with it every single day.
How is that anyone can take Roy being compared Mitch Richmond as an insult? I do think Roy has a certain something extra when it comes to leadership and end of game situations that is hard to quantify, but this silly assed assertion that a player can only be a good if he's putting up numbers on a winning team needs to stop. For instance, was Paul Pierce a fool's gold player only putting up stats on a bad team when Boston was languishing in mediocrity for all those years and magically he is a good player now that he has a supporting cast enabling him to be successful? I Thought not.
I agree. The "winning team" / "losing team" issues needs to stop being used as reasons to disqualify players from being good or great. That said, I don't think Richmond was quite the quality of talent that Roy is. I would say that last year's Roy could have been fairly compared to Richmond. This year, Roy has taken a step up and is on the verge of being a proper superstar. Richmond was never a superstar, he was a borderline All-Star caliber player. As LittleAlex notes, their per-game numbers are somewhat similar, but that's due to pace differences. Roy's PER (which considers pace) is well above Richmond's best, which squares with what I remember of Richmond. Very good player, but not a franchise player.
I think Roy's been getting more and more respect as his career continues. ESPN recently had an article on him being ranked with the superstars of the league in terms of his importance to the team and overall talent. He may not get the international or even national attention that guys like Howard and Paul get, but he's gotta be on their level.
Clearly a neutral 3rd party needs to be involved in this bet. That's what I'm here for. Each of you should send me $1,000 and I will distribute the money appropriately when the bet is decided.
