I guess I am. I don't say outrageous things about other poster's private parts, or my own bathroom functions, or players sleeping with other player's mothers, like you do. You are one funny guy!!
For the most part, I've been witnessing jump-shot Brandon. Even when it "appears" he could/should be taking it to the cup....he doesn't.....at least not like in years past. I'm wondering of the knee/hammy is bothering him...or such?
Maybe he's changing his game because it'll be easier to score that way. Maybe it crowds the middle and the team has asked him not to drive to the hoop as much. Maybe he realizes he stands a better chance at not getting injured, and therefore prolonging his career, by not driving to the hoop as much? Silly me, it's because he's breaking down and is on borrowed time.
That's the elephant in the room for me. He hasn't had even one of his patented, sexy drives to the basket yet this season (his FG% has taken a direct hit as a result). I really hope it's because he's trying to change up his game to save himself for the playoffs, and not because he... can't do it anymore.
Welcome to the discussion http://sportstwo.com/threads/171597-What-s-wrong-with-Roy?p=2453960&viewfull=1#post2453960
He did play horrible down the stretch tonight. But, if 19, 5 and 5 is Roy's worst performance, whatever. I expect we get revenge on them next week in OKC.
I was going to let this thread die, but after last night . . . Wow. Roy is not the same Roy, or at least he wasn't last night. The guy just can't seem to drive to the hoop anymore. Has he lost some athleticism? Is it his knees? All I know is, he is taking more jumpshots this year than ever, and last night he seemed a little lost out there. Anybody else notice how many times he deferred to others in the closing minutes. He actually seemed afraid to take the shot himself.
He started out the same last season. Everybody jumped on the theory that Brandon, LA, Oden (and throw in newly acquired Miller) couldn't co-exist. But the reality of it was Brandon looked sluggish. He couldn't get to the basket, he looked a step slow, his handles were sloppy . . . just didn't have any explosiveness. There were 24 games last year that Roy played in scored less than 20 points. 11 of them were in November. (And games vs. Philly, Clippers, Boston, Lakers he played sparingly because he got hurt or was coming back from injury). Then he averaged 27/Game in December and didn't have any games with less than 20 points. Part of his scoring surge was because he had to - injuries were depleting our roster. But he didn't have that gear to shift into to start the season - he had to play himself into shape. I think Brandon takes it easy in the summer, lets his body recover, and comes to training camp in mediocre shape. After Oden went down last season he was unbelievable, but it proved to be too much for his body to handle. From December 5th - January 13th, he played arguably the best basketball of his career. But then the hamstring tweaked and he had a hard time with consistency the rest of the season. So it could be that he's pacing himself. It's an 82 game grind, and hopefully more after that. I'd rather watch him settle for jumpers in November if it means he'll be healthy in April/May. I just wish more of his jumpers were finding the net.
I don't know if there is anything wrong with him, but he was great against the shitty teams of Phoenix, LAC and NYK, and less than good against Chicago, MIl and OKC. The latter teams being decent to good defensive teams. Maybe it's not so much Roy, and more the offense is predictable? Maybe it's Roy thinking he has to do too much? Maybe it's Roy not wanting to play with Miller and doing his own thing? It could also be that he is playing hurt or just complacent after signing his contract?
That's a reasonable explanation, but I find it troubling that Roy has to "play himself into shape." My feelings on this are well-known, so I won't belabor the point. I just wonder, though--do other great players "pace themselves" during the season? I don't recall Jordan, or Bird, or Malone ever doing that. Those guys seemed to play hard every night, game in and game out.
I think you're right Shooter - most great players don't "pace themselves", at least not at 26 years old! But let's be honest - Brandon's durability is questionable, and the reality is we are probably a sub .500 team w/o him (for long stretches anyway). Brandon knows that better than anyone.
With all the talent we have, there is no reason we shoud be sub .500 without Brandon. We have the starting SG from last years Utah team on our bench for crying out loud. Sorry, but all this does is feed into my Nate is not a good coach theory. It's up to the coach to design an offense that takes advantage of the teams strength, not just one player. Brandon is good enough that he should be able to excel in any offense.
Theory? It's your obsession at this point, dude. You should just set up a macro and save yourself the impending carpal tunnel problems.
I said Roy looked different and that he couldn't drive to the hoop anymore at the beginning of last year. I learned my lesson and I'm not complaining unless it continues for a while.
If it is his knees, he did the smart thing by not going full speed in pre-season. The last thing he needs is more wear and tear IF his knees are weakened. That said, I think it's way too early to float such alarmist theories. Roy is not a Michael Jordan caliber player or even a Kobe Bryant caliber player...he's never been so good that he can dominate nearly at will. He's prone to having bad games and bad stretches just like any other non-transcendent player. If he plays this way the rest of the year (by which I mean 2010, not the entire season), I'll be concerned.
