chris_in_pdx
OLD MAN
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2008
- Messages
- 4,855
- Likes
- 1,979
- Points
- 113
Brandon Roy is Jim Paxson with a little more athleticism and attitude.
Roy's and Paxson's stat lines are nearly identical when you throw out Paxson's first two years where he didn't start due to Ramsay's reluctance to start rookies over vets.
Both are/were players that could take over games occassionally, be counted on as consistent scorers and contributors, and could be built around. Paxson also played during the pre-Jordan era where building around a Shooting Guard was unheard of, so he didn't get the same leadership opportunities that Roy is being afforded.
However, Paxson hit his ceiling fairly quickly, around his 4th season, and started dropping off in his 6th when the rigors of playing and it's injuries started catching up with him. I see the same thing happening to Roy.
I'm not saying the Blazers are doing the wrong thing by building around Roy... in today's NBA, you can build a team around any player that is head and shoulders above everyone else. The reality is that this team will go as far as Greg Oden will ultimately take them, not Roy. LaMarcus is a Lucas-type... complimentary, occassionally dominate, and dependable, but not your go-to guy in the crunch. But Oden is really the key to the team going to the championship level. If he can put together a two year stretch of health that Bill Walton put together from 1976-78 (or longer), the Blazers will be hoisting hardware. Otherwise... they'll get close, ala Drexler's Blazers, but I don't see them winning the title without a healthy Oden... and if they do, it'll be a cheap Washington Bullets 1978 title that they only earned because every other team around them imploded.
Roy's and Paxson's stat lines are nearly identical when you throw out Paxson's first two years where he didn't start due to Ramsay's reluctance to start rookies over vets.
Both are/were players that could take over games occassionally, be counted on as consistent scorers and contributors, and could be built around. Paxson also played during the pre-Jordan era where building around a Shooting Guard was unheard of, so he didn't get the same leadership opportunities that Roy is being afforded.
However, Paxson hit his ceiling fairly quickly, around his 4th season, and started dropping off in his 6th when the rigors of playing and it's injuries started catching up with him. I see the same thing happening to Roy.
I'm not saying the Blazers are doing the wrong thing by building around Roy... in today's NBA, you can build a team around any player that is head and shoulders above everyone else. The reality is that this team will go as far as Greg Oden will ultimately take them, not Roy. LaMarcus is a Lucas-type... complimentary, occassionally dominate, and dependable, but not your go-to guy in the crunch. But Oden is really the key to the team going to the championship level. If he can put together a two year stretch of health that Bill Walton put together from 1976-78 (or longer), the Blazers will be hoisting hardware. Otherwise... they'll get close, ala Drexler's Blazers, but I don't see them winning the title without a healthy Oden... and if they do, it'll be a cheap Washington Bullets 1978 title that they only earned because every other team around them imploded.
