Roy Needs to Start In Game Five

[PapaG]

There, I said it.

Nate fucked up by sitting him most of the 3rd quarter.

Perhaps an offseason to assess where Roy is at will help the rotation?

 

[PapaG]

START BRANDON, or get him in early.

Wake the fuck up, Nate!

 

[magnifier661]

No man, bring him off the bench. This is something special. He plays well, he's gonna get minutes anyways.

 

[PapaG]

No man, bring him off the bench. This is something special. He plays well, he's gonna get minutes anyways.

I sat there stewing while the Mavs went nuts in the 3rd while Roy was on the bench. If Matthews isn't on early, get Roy in ASAP with Miller.

 

[magnifier661]

I sat there stewing while the Mavs went nuts in the 3rd while Roy was on the bench. If Matthews isn't on early, get Roy in ASAP with Miller.

Yeah just glad I was able to witness this greatness! Tears man seriously!

 

[Sinobas]

I think we need to keep Rudy on the bench. I know Mills isn't good, but let him play backup PG for a few minutes so that Roy can play SG. I think he may also be better at staying with JJ.

I think we have plenty of firepower in our starting 5, and we need Roy off the bench for now. The Blazers starting 5 just needs to come out with energy! It's the playoffs.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

clearly whatever they did today worked, so do that again

 

[PapaG]

clearly whatever they did today worked, so do that again

Other than being down by 18 going into the 4th, of course. I'd rather not repeat that scenario.

 

[Minstrel]

There, I said it.

Nate fucked up by sitting him most of the 3rd quarter.

Perhaps an offseason to assess where Roy is at will help the rotation?

You'd rather he wait til the offseason to decide whether to start Roy? He should probably be assessing that right now, yo.

 

[Minstrel]

No man, bring him off the bench. This is something special. He plays well, he's gonna get minutes anyways.

I agree with this. Use Roy as a (figurative) change of pace. When the team is struggling or looks low energy and can't put the ball in the basket, bring in Roy and tell him to find the hoop. Use him in bursts, where he can go all out and then rest on the bench. Let Roy be the (not so) secret weapon when the team needs Something.

 

[PapaG]

You'd rather he wait til the offseason to decide whether to start Roy? He should probably be assessing that right now, yo.

I hedged my bet. Very unlike me, I know.

 

[TripTango]

I think that NOT starting Roy (or playing him heavy minutes early) is precisely what gives him the best chance to do his thing come crunch time. Health-wise, it's not a perfect situation (obviously), but I think bringing him off the bench is the best way to use what we have for the time being.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

Other than being down by 18 going into the 4th, of course. I'd rather not repeat that scenario.

im fine with todays "scenario"

 

[PapaG]

im fine with todays "scenario"

I don't think my heart and psyche can take another one like this one.

WOW.

So glad I DVR'd the game. I'll be watching once the family goes down, although I've been too excited to do much at all tonight other than enjoy and reflect on the incredible experience that BROY and the rest of the Blazers gave me today.

 

[THE HCP]

Nope. Keep things how they are.

 

[PapaG]

Nope. Keep things how they are.

Nah. Roy needs more time in the 3rd and 1st if the team can't score. Miller, to his credit, tried, but he's not an elite scorer. Roy only played 24 minutes the last two games, and he deserves more over both Batum and Matthews.

 

[KevinJBonn]

I won't make any demands, but if Roy were to start I wouldn't complain. There's just always the risk that if he starts he doesn't do anything. He has never had a history of getting things started, but if he keeps playing out of his mind like this then that effort should be recognized by returning him to his former glory.

 

[Natebishop3]

Question, if Roy had played 35+ minutes, do you think he could have done what he did in the 4th quarter? Or would he have prevented the huge deficit? There's so many "what ifs". I'm just wondering what kind of pain/discomfort he has right now. Is he in pain? Little pain? Significant pain? That's how I would determine how many minutes he should play.

I'm just wondering if he was able to do what he did because he was fresh in the 4th. Not an entirely bad idea by Nate.

 

[MickZagger]

Roy is like our version of Vinnie "The Microwave" Johnson.

 

[PHXBlazer1]

I would counter with "Roy needs to FINISH game 5".

 

[BlazerCaravan]

I would counter with "Roy needs to FINISH game 5".

Yes, exactly; let him be Greg Anthony to Matthews's Damon.

 

[Sug]

"At the end of the day it's not who starts, it's who finishes." That would be the Blazers motto rather than uprise, but it wouldn't fit on the little signs.

 

[PapaG]

"At the end of the day it's not who starts, it's who finishes." That would be the Blazers motto rather than uprise, but it wouldn't fit on the little signs.

I fought plenty of battles on that issue with Ed O. and Minstrel in the Webster vs. Outlaw debates. Of course it matters who finishes the game, but Ed O. refused to budge from his stance that starting was more important.

 

[Sug]

I fought plenty of battles on that issue with Ed O. and Minstrel in the Webster vs. Outlaw debates. Of course it matters who finishes the game, but Ed O. refused to budge from his stance that starting was more important.

I know I was just teasing. I am not sure if he should or shouldn't start. I just want them to win, and at this point how we win is less important to me. When I think about all of the great playoff runs in NBA history, they often involve some unconventional thinking that continues to play out throughout a series without making much sense until you look back and say "oh well, that was pretty awesome!"

 

[PapaG]

I know I was just teasing. I am not sure if he should or shouldn't start. I just want them to win, and at this point how we win is less important to me. When I think about all of the great playoff runs in NBA history, they often involve some unconventional thinking that continues to play out throughout a series without making much sense until you look back and say "oh well, that was pretty awesome!"

That was just an incredible game. I made this thread when the Blazers were still down 10 points or so, though.

 

[RR7]

I am thinking we still bring him off the bench. Still need to force the ball inside early to LMA, and get him going. We need both of those guys on. Get him going, and hopefully get some of our shooters going on open looks, and maybe a few fouls on Chandler.
But also don't hesitate to bring Roy in early if things are looking bad. Don't stick to a rotation, go with the gut. And ride him for 40 if need be. If his knee hurts, so be it. Can't risk resting him for games that might not be played.

 

[maxiep]

He has to be our Jason Terry. We have no offensive punch off the bench except for him.

 

[e_blazer]

Brandon should get to choose whether he starts or comes off the bench. After yesterday's game, he's earned the right to play whenever he wants.

 

[Minstrel]

I fought plenty of battles on that issue with Ed O. and Minstrel in the Webster vs. Outlaw debates. Of course it matters who finishes the game, but Ed O. refused to budge from his stance that starting was more important.

Well, I don't remember the "fights" over Webster and Outlaw (except the ones over who was better, in which I took Outlaw's side which I believe you did too). But my position has always been that neither starting nor finishing is crucial to winning...what matters is minutes played.

That's in general of course. In the specific case of Roy, where there may be pain and diminishing returns on his knees, he may be more effective in fewer minutes than a starter normally plays. I don't know what the right number is for him, so hopefully he and Nate can figure it out.

 

[Natebishop3]

Well, I don't remember the "fights" over Webster and Outlaw (except the ones over who was better, in which I took Outlaw's side which I believe you did too). But my position has always been that neither starting nor finishing is crucial to winning...what matters is minutes played.

That's in general of course. In the specific case of Roy, where there may be pain and diminishing returns on his knees, he may be more effective in fewer minutes than a starter normally plays. I don't know what the right number is for him, so hopefully he and Nate can figure it out.

That's my opinion as well. Roy is hopefully looking at the big picture. Can he still play 35+ minutes (starter minutes) and be that effective throughout the whole game, or will he only be able to put together spurts of greatness like we saw last night? Nobody on this forum knows for sure how Roy's knee feels, so we can speculate till the cows come home, but only Roy knows the truth. He said last night that he thought, at one point, that he might never play basketball again, so it's not like the fans were pulling this out of their ass, but he also showed that he can still be the Roy we knew....

In my opinion, I'd rather see THAT Roy for 20-25 minutes a night, rather than a very average Brandon Roy for 35-40 minutes.