Brandon Roy Deserved Better Out of His Body

As patently absurd as the Chris Paul trade veto was — and it was indefensibly absurd — it pales in comparison to the disappointment I have in the news that Brandon Roy is retiring due to his gimpy knee that has practically no cartilage left.



It's the end to a far too short career of brilliance. No, Brandon Roy was never the best player in the NBA or a champion. He was never the league's leading scorer or a highlight-reel dunker. Brandon Roy was never any of these. What he was was one of the game's most versatile, fluid and commanding players … and truly great before his body failed him.

Roy never had Vince Carter's athleticism or Allen Iverson's explosiveness. He never LeBron James' power or Chris Paul's vision. But Roy maximized every single ounce of talent he had and used his incredibly high basketball IQ to excel. He slowed the game down to his pace, never hurried himself. And no one could ever seem to speed him up.

At all times, Roy always look calm and in control. That's because he was. No matter who the opposition was or what it seemed to do, it didn't matter. Roy was going to make it his game, whether that meant dropping 52 points or setting up teammates to have the best years of their careers. The man just flat out owned on the court.

And in this era where players' egos have them either pushing others away or drawing them to fellow superstars, Roy never got all caught up in any of that. He played his ass off for a passionate Portland fanbase, never uttered a bad word about a teammate and led through both his actions and his demeanor.

Brandon Roy was quietly an assassin, a man overshadowed by bigger names playing under brighter lights in larger cities. But on the court, he was as impressive as anyone, and he never let the fans down with his effort or his performance. Unfortunately, his body did, and it's robbed both Roy and NBA fans everywhere of one of the best, underappreciated players the league has ever seen.

I wish nothing but the best for Brandon Roy in his future endeavors and hope the league and its fans realize just how important he was before injuries befell him.

I'd Buy This Poster

Yeah, I guess that Brandon Roy fella is pretty good.



Good God!

But that's not all folks. Check out my recent fantasy pickup, Tyrus Thomas:



I wonder what it feels like to do that.

Earth to Elton

Don't look now, but your Philadelphia 76ers are starting to make some noise in the NBA. Last night, I was in attendance for the Sixers' 100-79 romp over the Portland Trailblazers, who just so happened to be 9 games over .500 before tipoff.



With the exception of a big run by the Blazers in the 3rd quarter that cut a 22-point halftime lead to single digits, the game was never close. The Sixers were out and running early, forcing turnovers and filling it up from the floor. They routed an upstart Portland team for their fifth straight win, taking over the 8th spot in the East.

Andre Iguodala continued his renaissance. Last night, he was the best player on the court. Better than any of his teammates. Better than any Blazer. Yes, even Brandon Roy, who had a pretty damn good game in his own right (27-5-6). But it was Iguodala's 29 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists that catapulted Philadelphia to the victory.



The Sixers simply continued to do what they've done since Elton Brand went down. They played tough defense, forced a lot of turnovers and got up and down the floor with ease. Mareese Speights continued to impress, and his hard putback dunks have been igniting the Sixers on a nightly basis. Thaddeus Young seems to have regained his stroke, Lou Will is doing his thing and Reggie Evans is banging bodies. Hell, even Samuel Dalembert seems rejuvenated, crashing the boards with abandon and blocking shots.

I hope Elton is watching because seeing his teammates excel without him in ways they weren't with him has to be pretty motivating. Hopefully it will push him to come back as a different player than the one who was vastly underachieving with a team that was struggling to adjust to him.

As far as Portland goes, that team confused me quite a bit. There aren't many teams in the NBA with as much depth as the Blazers, even without the services of Rudy Fernandez last night. But they looked extremely disinterested in playing, with the exception of Roy.

Greg Oden surely has a long way to go, but it really didn't look like the Blazers were all that interested in getting him involved offensively last night. Maybe he's not ready yet. All I know is, he didn't do a damn thing. Also, I can't figure out how Steve Blake starts on this team.



Don't get me wrong, I liked Blake when he was at Maryland, and the guy is having a very good year in Portland. But really, he isn't a starting NBA point guard. Last night, he proved that. He looked overmatched by an athletic Sixers team and turned the ball over twice very early in the game. He wasn't awful, but he wasn't very effective either.

I would have thought maybe Jerryd Bayless would be an option, but he can't shoot worth a lick. He was terrible last night, yet with Blake struggling and Bayless playing awful, Nate McMillan never really gave Sergio Rodriguez any run. In my opinion, he's better than both Bayless and Blake, but that's just me.

Anyway, it was a nice win by the Sixers and I followed it by watching the end of the Lakers-Spurs game when I got home.

It was a wild finish. San Antonio was up late, but then Kobe took over, even breaking out the Sam Cassell "Big Balls" dance.



Then this happened:



That was a ridiculous shot by Roger Mason. And maybe that was a bad call on Trevor Ariza, but dude, when Kobe passes you the ball and the last shot is waiting, get it right back to him. I'm pretty sure Lakers fans want Kobe taking that shot 1,000 times out of 1,000. Not Trevor Ariza. Sweet game though.

LET'S GO BIRDS!!!!!

Brandon Roy Went Bonkers

I'm so pissed off at myself right now. I've been dying to watch the Suns now that they have Jason Richardson, and last night was a perfect time to catch the new-look Suns in a great matchup with the Trailblazers. Instead, I fell asleep like a jerk and missed the 124-119 scoring fest victory for Portland where Brandon Roy went nuts, scoring 52 points.



Damn this waking up early and working shit. Cost me watching a great game. I need to get my sleep deprivation dedication back pronto.

Seriously, check out Roy's game.

Brandon Roy Goes Off

Well, damn, I am sure pissed I went to sleep instead of watching the Portland-Rockets game. Apparently it was incredible, as this video from Fanhouse (thanks Morning Constitutional) shows:



Seriously, I'm pissed I missed this game. Damn you for lulling to me sleep Sixers.