It's hard to tell sometimes whether Portland's Brandon Roy is young or old. The media guide says he was born in 1984. Yet, the father of two sounds like a veteran sage when speaking of his youthful teammates.
When asked if he was surprised to see the young Trail Blazers sitting 32-20 at the All-Star break, Roy told HOOPSWORLD, "I wouldn't say I'm surprised. I couldn't say, 'I thought we were going to be this good,' either. We felt like if we played good basketball and our young guys matured quickly – we play Greg (Oden), Rudy (Fernandez), we start Nicolas Batum – we felt like if we could mesh quickly we had a chance."
The "young guys" Roy is referring to are all within four years of him. In fact, all but three Blazers were born as recently as 1983. So, why does the former Washington guard sound like Dr. Jack Ramsay?
The truth is, Roy is a young man with veteran responsibilities. On a team filled with inexperienced talent, the second-time All-Star has been a cohesive force for Nate McMillan's team.
In addition to sounding like a veteran, the Blazers guard also plays like one. Roy is eighth in the NBA with a Player Efficiency Rating of 24.04 (the league average is 15) but among the top 25 in that category, he has the lowest turnover rate. Despite touching the ball nearly every time down the court, Roy turns the ball over far less (7.2% of his possessions end in a turnover) than the likes of LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant.
The disciplined play of Roy has rubbed off on the entire franchise.
"Usually we just sit back and watch Brandon," Portland forward Travis Outlaw told HOOPSWORLD. "Now we can piece it together and all chip in to help Brandon and not just watch the 'Brandon Show.'"..............................
