A really nicely written piece on Roy and the predicament the team finds itself in http://www.portlandroundballsociety...ard-truths-its-time-to-bench-brandon-roy.html . . . . . .
Everyone assumes Roy would score at will on bench players, but any opposing coach would instantly recognize the benefit of changing their normal rotation to keep a good defender on him. I don't see that it would make much difference, unless Matthews and Batum improve in the process.
Definitely needs to happen, so I say go for it. An up-tempo unit with intense defense is what we need from our 1st unit. We have to hit the accelerator when we get a lead for a change. On offense when the ball moves they take good shots, when it doesn't they don't, it's really that simple. We've been straight up stagnant in the fourth.
The team wasn't flawless by any stretch of the imagination with Roy out, but they did play much better defense, players cut and moved off the ball and there was less standing around (and they did manage to beat Denver and Memphis) Bottome line: Roy as a starter as the head of the spear (so to speak) is killing this team.
I don't know about a traditional 6th man role for Roy if that means having him play against the other team's second unit. We need his skills against the opposition's best players otherwise we're just playing lesser talent against better talent. I could, however, see him being used as a 4th quarter specialist. Play him only minor minutes, if at all, in the first 3 quarters and tell him to save his energy and knees for the 4th quarter.
I think Roy needs to be a 6th man until he can adapt his game, and/or get his mojo back. It's glaringly apparent he needs to transform his game if he intends to be our 4th quarter closer, hell even last year it was apparent he was working too hard. If our defense is good enough on the oppositions best players I believe we'll be able to create with an up-tempo offense on the other end. LMA commands a double team, and both Wes and Dre can create off the dribble. IF the movement is good I have no doubt we can hang.
This makes the most sense to me. Use the Houston Yao model with strict hour limitations. I think Roy can be almost as effective as he used to be if they use him more efficiently like this. It may also be a way to extend his career as well. Brandon still has the valuable leadership and basketball IQ and those are qualities are difficult to replace
Interesting... so it would be something like a strict 24-minute per game limit, no back-to-backs, etc? Though I don't get the notion that Roy has to go up against better defenders for his points to count more; they count the same regardless... to me it seems like he'd score more of those points against the other team's bench than against their starters. It's not like he's bringing defense to the table. That said, I would definitely sub him in for the last 3-5 minutes of a close game, just like we do with Rudy sometimes now, subbing out Camby and making MA play center on offense, then subbing Camby back in on defense. I still like Roy off the bench a little more than Roy as a limited starter.
