I see no reason at all for him to play in the playoffs. It's not like he would be the difference of us winning a title or not. If Brandon plays we might have a better chance of getting out of the first round, but even that is debatable. I would much rather have a healthy Roy to start the 10-11' campaign
I thought I read he was told he can't make the injury any worse, and is already planning surgery for the offseason. I don't wan thim out there if he can't be effective, but if he, and the team, feel he can be effective, and there is no risk of further aggravation, I say throw him out there.
It's all about risk. If there's a decent chance he'll further injure himself, then I agree. However, the whole point of the NBA is to get as far as you can in the playoffs. Even if it just means losing in 7 games instead of 5 in the first round. You have to put the best team you can afford to out there. The Blazers owe it to the fans and the advertisers. That's part of the deal when you sign an $80 mil contract. So if the risk is pretty small he'll injure it further, he should go out there and play, even if he's only at 60%. Because Roy at 60% is still better than 100% of anything else we have at shooting guard.
I don't think this team "owes" us anything, after what they have gone thru this year. They have played their asses off for us.
No you are missing a point. Its not just about him injuring himself. It's about him being productive and not a liability out there. If he can, great, more power to him. But if it was like earlier this year with his hamstring, then forget it. I know the kid has a big heart. But sometimes the right thing to do, is to sit down and let your team mates play.
Sure they played their asses off. And a lot of people paid obscene amounts of money to watch them do it. It's a perfectly fair trade (hell, it's a bargain for the fans in the modern NBA). But it's not like they cured cancer without any compensation or something. They still owe the fans the best team they can put out there in the playoffs.
What I pay comcast to watch the Blazers is obscene, but I sacrifice for the team. Now hopefully they can sacrifice for us! Of course, I am not so sure putting Roy out there is the right thing to do. )
Speaking of, I was talking with my fiancee this morning, and she had a good idea: have Roy not play Game 1 on the road, and make his first game Game 2 at home. Big emotional entrance, ride the high of being at home, and get a win, even if he only plays 10 minutes. I kind of like the idea of him only playing home games until Game 7 (or until our opponent has 3 wins) to give him more rest.
Seems like this would be a decision that would be best made by Roy, his doctors and the Blazers' coaching staff. But if message board opinions mean anything, put me down in the category of "I don't have a clue because I don't have any firsthand knowledge of the injury other than what I've read in the papers or how well Brandon can play with it."
He has plenty of time to recuperate in the offseason. The main reason I want him to consider having surgery right away is if they think theres a chance he could return in ~4weeks if we somehow advanced to the WCF. It's extremely unlikely, but if we play the Suns and Dallas I think we would have a chance even if it's only 15%. A reasonable healthy Roy at that time would be more valuable then a hobbled Roy at the present.
BOOOOO to all of you! I have first hand knowledge with this injury, and it's very common. The doctors said he cannot do further damage to it, therefore if he can play to a satisfactory level regardless of pain he should play!
As much as it pains me to say it, I think I agree too. You need to look no further than Grant Hill to see what can happen when a guy tries to nut up/play hurt in the post season. You can make a strong argument that Hill trying to play on that bad ankle in the 2000 playoffs devastated his career. In the following 3 seasons he played 4, 14, & 29 games largely because of that jacked up ankle. They probably told him it wouldn't get "any worse" if he played on it - the same thing people are telling Brandon. We have too much money wrapped up in Brandon to not have him around and healthy for years to come. It sucks. It's hard to remember a superstar for any team getting hurt 2 GAMES before the playoffs! But it happened. We just have to chalk this years post season up to a learning experience for our young guys (especially Lamarcus and Batum) And, we have another consecutive year playoff streak underway. Other than that - it's a 1st Round KO and see 'ya next year.
I think I'd lean towards him not playing. It seems if he had the surgery now, he would have time in the offseason both for his family and to get into some kind of program (Tim Grover facility?) that might build up his leg strength and possibly avoid this problem in the future. I don't really know enough physiology to know if that's possible though.
As far as I know, there's absolutely nothing obscene about having "too many hookers in one hot-tub"... so long as you can afford 'em!
What he said! I think there is too big of a risk that he'll mess up other parts of his knee by playing. Am I crazy to think that his knee wont be as strong with part of it torn?
