Some very concerning statements by Roy

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/11/portland_minnesota.html

Wow.

 

Not really what I want to hear from Roy, who runs this team? What could get interesting is if we play poorly for the next 10 or 15 games, last night was Minny and they are awful. If Roy gets his way and the team plays worse, then that opens up a can of worms. Could be an interesting season chemistry wise, stay tuned.

 

I think it's safe to say that Roy doesn't play as well alongside Miller......and probably told Nate as much. Otherwise, we probably would have seen a different starting lineup than we saw last night.

 

Good teams know who their leader is, and their leader knows he is their leader. There are very few leaders, and even fewer that are worthy of being called a leader and being the shot taker/play maker on a good team.

Roy fills the need that our Rasheed teams never had, a go to leader. Pippen was a good coach on the floor but he could not physically get it done consistently like the leader needs to do. That is why those teams were so disjointed.

The way I see it, we are lucky that our team has a leader. We are lucky that our team wants to be the leader (unlike Rasheed). We are lucky that our leader gets it done in crunch time when the ball is in his hands and he is allowed to make the reads. We are lucky that our players unanimously recognize Roy as the leader of the team. We are lucky that our players are not jealus of Roy's leadership ability.

I can go on, but I am sure the point is made. Roy is not an ego driven player. He wants to win. He knows this team is built around him, not Andre Miller. This is a good thing. All is well in Blazerville except for the injuries to Nic and Travis.

 

Are you upset with Roy making these statements? It is kind of true, don't you think? He is basically saying play me at SG, because that helps the team more and one of these PG's is going to have to come off the bench. The article doesn't actually quote Roy as saying that him and Andre didn't play well together, but it suggests that. I would like to see Miller start for a stretch with Roy at SG and Webster at SF, but I doubt we see it unless Blake gets injured. I am not too concerned about these statements, except that Nate probably should have realized that Roy was having trouble in that lineup earlier.

 

Reading this, I couldn't help but think back a couple of years ago to Kobe demanding Bynum be traded.

To use a statement that many like to use in here. The management team for the Blazers gets paid to make those decisions, and it's up to the players to adjust. Kobe did, and they won a title. Bynum will probably be an allstar this year, and it's because Kobe adjusted his game a little bit.

 

As well, PJ made Jordan adjust his game in Chi-town.

 

Then you have absolutely no sense of proportion. But we knew that anyway.

Scene: McDonalds
Guy in front of MM gets his order then says "didn't I ask for onion rings?"
MM dives under a table in panic. When asked why he said: "hearing that, I couldn't help but think back a couple of years ago to when a guy came into a McDonalds and just started shooting everybody!"

 

Seriously, I don't care who you are, that's signature stuff, right there.

 

Question ABM, Roy doesn't or wouldn't? That's the question.

If Roy is so rigid as to want his group, Blake and Outlaw, etc. how can this team be better than last year?

Will they all just get a little better and that will get them to the next level?

Did Roy really play better last night or did Web and Blake just hit some shots?

doesn't this just make us a jump shooting team ala Barkley's comments?

Just asking as I did not get to see the game, only listened.

 

All good questions. As has been said, Roy's biggest "gripe" is that he's (literally) tired of playing the 3. He's already gone on record as saying he loves to play with Steve. I think Nate just added 1 + 1.

This team's improvements will be from maturity coupled with the fact that Miller is a FAR better backup than Sergio.

That said, I still think Nate will make a move by the td. We shall see, though.

 

Be interesting to see how Oden fares when it's back to Steve and Brandon, if they do a better job of feeding the bigs then that helps a lot, if not then we will not fare as well. Brandon's a big part yes, but getting our C's involved is huge as well.

 

all i think roy is trying to say is that they can win big playing the same guys as last year more or less.miller is the best backup pg in the nba. pryz is the best backup center. pretty good 2nd team bookends imo.

 

You are no doubt right, you are after all The ABM.

Are we not back to a jump shooting team or will the team see Oden become a major staple in the mix much like Kobe and Shack?

Because we are missing two pieces from last year how does the team change (i.e. get better) this year????? Maybe we get better defensively and Miller will likely add to the second unit. I hope.

 

pryz and oden went for 30 last night. if this is what roy wants to do, im ALL for it.

 

What's your agenda? Roy will never be considered a selfish player. The team is better with Roy handling the ball and creating for others. Period. The offense should go through Roy, like the offense goes through Kobe, Lebron and Wade. I'm not suggesting that Roy is good as those players, but every team runs their offense THROUGH their best player. Roy has in the past made players around him better when he has the ball in his hands. Let him continue to do that.

I can understand why Nate would start Blake over Miller. Playing Roy at small forward took the ball out of his hands, and put him on the perimeter. Also they were getting no production out of Martell, and the rest of the 2nd unit has been playing like shit.

Having shooters around Roy and Oden, such as Blake and Webster, opens up the middle for Oden to work, and for Roy to drive and create. Placing Miller in the 2nd unit will help the production of the bench.

 

Yeah, the "The" ABM who's not good enough to get "THE" billing.

 

Good point!

Looks like the players around Roy played much better last night. We have however beaten this team twice before by large numbers so it seems we just have better personnel. I think I will wait and see if we can do it to good teams.

 

That really is the key, how this lineup will fare against better opposition since advancing further in the playoffs is our real goal then that is what it boils down to. I have my doubts but hope to see them erased. Roy should be at SG but I would have liked to see Miller start and Webs at SF for a few games at least, we'll see how things evolve.