Having the ball in his hands more, especially in an iso, and teams focusing on him? Yeah, I think he will probably force some bad shots.
So you feel that the past two seasons, the team played with little effort? After all, Roy set the same tone the last couple of pre-seasons. That seems pretty at odds with the reality of how they fought to win 50 games through a ton of injuries. Yes, very fearless. How will you measure the "heart and soul"-ness of the players and who is "really getting the team playing winning basketball?"
A few things... 1) I'm not a Brandon hater, but I feel he doesn't fit Nate's offense. Nate wants the team to hustle up court, Brandon wants to slowly walk. Nate wants more pick & rolls, Brandon wants more iso for him. He seems to be a square peg in a round hole. 2) After last season some smart people stated he was going to end up having microfracture surgery on his knee(s) within 2 years due to injries and other reasons I cannot recall. If so, maybe he's playing on aching knees. 3) I don;t think he's dogging it, but getting used to his team mates.
I agree with you that his effort on defense can be lacking, though i don't think it has to do with his pre-season action. I don't really agree with that. I think you're overrating how much leadership inspires other players. I think the vast majority of players perform based on their own talents and motivations and are not significantly affected by the desire of the players around them. Batum, the youngest player on the team the last two seasons, has played very good defense. Bayless, the next youngest I think, has played hard on defense (even if not terribly effectively yet).
There are so many ways to judge a player. A person who comes to mind is Reggie Miller, the guy was fucking money in the playoffs and brought it every night............. EXCEPT ON DEFENSE! He was a warrior out there on the offensive end, but that's it. I'd rather have Brandon concentrate on the O and let the weak side help come to his aid. There are 25 or so other teams that would love to have him as their starting 2. It's easy to pick apart a players game, if you aren't happy with him, who would you rather have and how would you acquire him/her?
Honest reply, I'd rather have CP3 and use Matthews/Rudy at the 2, this team is built to run and IMO CP3 fits our personnel better that Roy. That being said any such deal is likely a pipe dream.
Reggie was a polar opposite to Roy on offense though. He moved without the ball. He rarely handled it on an iso. That wasn't his game. He played within the offense.
I have never thought Roy was a top 10 player (at least not yet...) and that's been enough to label me as a hater in the eyes of some, but I am utterly unconcerned about his preseason. I expect him to have his usual excellent season, and I'm excited to see if he can take the next step up to be a truly elite NBA player. Ed O.
I wasn't comparing their style of play, just showing that a player can be dominant on one end of the floor and not the other and still be valuable. Once again, I'm right and your wrong FAMS!
Ah, but here's the key to my argument.... Reggie moved without the ball....... A LOT. He was always running. He was always moving. He might not have played much defense, but his man was fucking TIRED by the end of the game. Roy is slow. He barely moves. It's his calling card. Roy's man isn't going to be nearly as tired as a guy who was defending Miller.
20/5/5 I think it sets a bad example for Brandon to coast. I would rather see him play hard for a short spurt in each half than to play more minutes on cruise control. When he's out there taking it easy, there is someone on the bench that could be getting some good out of that PT. Go Blazers
Why do people assume that Roy is "coasting"? What observation is this insult to his on-court integrity based upon?
Armed mutiny. The only question is, how deep does this revolution go? Is this why Pritchard was fired? He brought Miller in, maybe he was paving the way to depose Roy, whom he saw as a threat. This is deeply concerning. I knew Miller had never made it out of the first round (because he doesn't really care and drags incredibly talented teams down), but I never realized he was a force for evil.
