I disagree with this: Just because Roy doesn't display it all the time doesn't mean he hasn't got it. Remember All Star Weekend last year? Sean Williams does.
I agree with your disagreement. Dude has a 42" vertical leap. That's pretty damned athletic. And he repeatedly abuses players perceived to be more athletic. He is sneaky fast though, because he's so smooth and he likes to use the change of pace to help beat his man off the dribble. Athleticism isn't just dunking from the foul line. He uses amazing athletic ability to get open so often. I don't see how people can miss that.
One of the great things about living in Houston is getting to watch games on league pass....the other is the winters. I loove watching the Blazers play the Knicks because Walt Frazier sounds like a proud father when he talks about Roy and his similar playing style. I remember Roy's rookie year. After the game Roy went up and shook Fraziers hand and told how much he idolized him and if he had any pointers on what he needed to work on. Keep in mind this was right after the game in MSG. Frazier was laughing about it on air and told his partner that Roy was a class act and more player should act like that. Asked what he told Roy for advise, and Frazier responded with a chuckle filled "I told him I was about to ask him the same question"
That has always been the general impression, but after either the NY or Det game, the coach specifically mentioned how they didn't have anyone athletic enough to keep up with Roy. Roy has one of the quickest second steps I've seen. His first step is a little slow, because he may pull up. But once he shifts into second . . . even if you know it's coming . . . bubye.
Clyde is great! I love how he clearly relishes words and peppers his commentary with polysyllabic examples like "serendipitous". He sounds much more mild-mannered than he dresses, I have to say. Reading more in that article made me worry about Roy's health! We need to hang on to our depth and try to lower his minutes...
The one area I continue to be impressed with athletically for Brandon is his ability to jump quickly to tip in a miss. How many times have we seen him this year, almost once a game I'd say, miss a contested lay up and then quick jump a second time to tap it in. Usually he's beating Oden or Pryzbilla, and the opponents center to do it. Last night it was him beating Oden for the tip in.
The thing about Brandon that I love is that he will start the game and his first priority is getting the other starters going within the game plan. He'll play that way for the majority of the game then when it's winning time, in a close game, he will calmly put the team on his back if they need him to. He gets this look in his eyes where you know he's going to be impossible to stop. Not only is he playing out of his mind right now but he also makes everyone around him better. That, to me, is what makes him such a special player. He might not ever be as physically gifted as the Kobes, TMacs, and Dwades of the NBA but you can't teach the high basketball IQ and leadership qualities that he has. And regarding his athleticism, when I see sports reporters say something like that it just makes me think they haven't watched very many Blazers games from beginning to end. These reporters are confusing athleticism with flashiness. Portland fans who have the pleasure of watching him play a lot see him making these reporters look completely ignorant. I think the Tim Duncun comparison is a good one. They both have the smooth, calm, professional demeanor and you don't notice how badly they're really abusing the team until you look at the box score at the end.
Same skin tone, too. As we all know, whites must be compared to whites and blacks to blacks, so it stands to reason that light skinned black players should be compared to likewise complected (is that a word?) ones.
Spud! Good to see you! How are things? Not only same skin tone, Duncan and Roy were both unusual in staying for 4 years of college. They both stay calm. Both have low key personal lives - you never heard of Duncan getting wildly drunk in some strip club. I agree that Roy's athleticism is underrated. He is strong for his size, he has great body control. He can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. He's not, I agree, flashy, but some of his shots have been true circus moves, usually not because he was planning it but because he had a defender in his face or was knocked down and still got the ball to go in. Man, I love Brandon Roy (in a non-hetero fashion, of course).
I'm doing great, how about you? How are the kids? And the not so new anymore job? Good point on Brandon's strength. You can see he spent a lot of time in the weight room in the off season. You've got to love a guy who's never satisfied with where he's at (even if he's an All Star) and constantly strives to improve (bulking up, adding the left hand, etc.). You're right about the flashiness too. We've all seen moves (remember the Toronto game last year?) that would get him on SportsCenter every night if he wanted but it's just not important to him. If he continues to improve like this every season (and given his high basketball IQ and leadership qualities) I really think he has the potential to be a Hall of Famer when his career is all said and done. He's a very special player. And, while I admit I could love Brandon in a hetero fashion, I'm holding out for Rudy. My beloved team has so far exceeded my expectations this year I'm still waiting to wake up. Before the season I looked at the early season schedule and thought it had the potential to completely mess up their heads for the rest of the season. If you had told me we'd be at 14 and 6 this year I would have said, "Don't you mean 6 and 14?". I wondered if they were going to be able to dig themselves out of the hole to salvage their season after the first 24 games!
Or, better yet, the scoreboard. Players like Duncan and Roy care so much more about winning than their personal stat lines. I wonder if they even know how many PPG they are averaging. To them the Ws and Ls are the only important numbers. BNM
Is there anything in the world more beautiful than Roy taking the ball to the hoop? He leans forward, dribbling the ball low to the ground, sizing up the defender like a cat getting ready to pounce. At just the right moment he goes one way, then reverses direction and -- WHOOSH -- he's gone!! When he steps through the hole you can kiss your defense good-bye. He tucks the ball out of sight, then gracefully uncoils as he takes off for the rim, stretching his arm out and softly dropping the ball into the basket. Perfection.
It still blows my mind that so many other GMs and teams did not see this in him. I remember the Stephen A. Smith crew going on and on about how bad we messed up that draft and Brandon was as good then as he was ever going to be. They were brutal. How is it possible that everyone (except KP) underestimated the guy so badly?!?
