Who is/will be better in the end: Brandon or Damien?

[Stevenson]

If you read that article about Batum by Canzano this week you saw that Nic said that Brandon Roy is the best player he ever played with. That got me to thinking - Roy and Lilliard are much alike as players. Both have that killer instinct, both are clutch, both shoot great. Of course, due to size and position, they are different, but they are more alike than different I contend.

So which is better? Although we saw far, far to little of Brandon, he gets my vote. He had that Je ne sais quo, that magic. Damien has some it too obviously, but different.

Maybe in the end it was Roy's ability to control the pace of the game. To bend it to his style of play. And to get to the rack like no other. He played more like Jerry West than any player I have ever seen, so, as great as Damien will be, I vote Roy.

 

[Rhal]

If Damien stays healthy and continues to improve it will be him by a long shot. Roy was amazing and one of the best players the Blazers have ever had but his career was to short to really hold a immovable spot in Blazer history like Wilt or Clyde.

 

[OregonHuskerMan]

Damian is already on his way to being better, if not already.

And Aldridge is probably a little less than Roy now, also.

Iso-Roy held us back, which isn't necessarily Roys fault, but Roy was rather selfish if you really look at it.

 

[Strenuus]

Can't compare. Roy's career was cut short. Too many what if's at this point.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

Damian is already on his way to being better, if not already.

And Aldridge is probably a little less than Roy now, also.

Iso-Roy held us back, which isn't necessarily Roys fault, but Roy was rather selfish if you really look at it.

Agree. Roy had amazing games, but he was selfish and played zero defense. At least lillard tries on defense

 

[BrianFromWA]

the fact that this is even a topic seems like a win.

For the record, I like Damian's chances, if for no other reason than he just has to have 3 great seasons/playoffs to overtake him. I don't know that his prime will be better than Roy's (I hope so), but he doesn't need to sustain what he's already doing much longer to be a serious conversation.

 

[B-Roy]

Agree. Roy had amazing games, but he was selfish and played zero defense. At least lillard tries on defense

I don't think Roy was a selfish player. Iso-Roy was a function of Nate's offense. If you're referring to the Andre Miller fiasco, Roy was by far our best player at that time, and it made sense to structure the offense around him, not Miller. Besides, great isolation players like Roy, Kobe, Melo, Harden, etc. will always face this criticism, but it doesn't mean they can't win.

Also, Roy's highest USG% was 27.4% on 16.9 shots per game. By contrast, Aldridge is at 28.9% this year on 20.9 shots per game.

 

[blue9]

... Roy was rather selfish if you really look at it.

Yup. Still, at this point, he was the better player when isolating what each of them can do individually. Until Lillard develops a game inside the 3-point arc, the nod has to go to Roy. Again, when talking about their individual skill sets. However, because of Roy's selfishness I can see an argument for Lillard being the better player for the team.
As underwhelmed as I've been by Lillard this year, I think it's just a matter of time before he is unquestionably better than Roy. Heck, if we make it out of the first round that alone will push Lillard ahead.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Yup. Still, at this point, he was the better player when isolating what each of them can do individually. Until Lillard develops a game inside the 3-point arc, the nod has to go to Roy. Again, when talking about their individual skill sets. However, because of Roy's selfishness I can see an argument for Lillard being the better player for the team.
As underwhelmed as I've been by Lillard this year, I think it's just a matter of time before he is unquestionably better than Roy. Heck, if we make it out of the first round that alone will push Lillard ahead.

QFT

 

[oldmangrouch]

Roy will be judged by individual accomplishments. With luck, Dame will be judged for leading the team to success. Too early to call.

 

[riverman]

LaMarcus Aldridge will be better than both at the end. Brandon never really realized his potential and never went deep in the playoffs at all. Brandon was a fan favorite and potentially a great player but he never even played in the Olympics except to work out with the practice squad. Lillard has set records that few players his age have accomplished already. I expect Lillard to surpass Roy on many levels but right now, LaMarcus is a superstar that neither of them were/(are)

 

[Blazer Fanatic]

DamiAn Lillard. My orthography is terrible, but it's his name.

I'm with Riverman. LA is who I'm putting my money on.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

It's Damian. I loved Roy but Lillard is going to be the best Blazer ever IMO. He has his flaws but you can visibly see him working on them (going to the basket and finishing) and he is doing all this while averaging 22/6/4.

 

[HailBlazers]

Better At What?

Damian is a better three point shooter now, but at this point you'd have to combine CJ and Dame together to equal Roy's pure scoring ability.

But yes, in the end, I believe Damian will become better.

 

[MARIS61]

So far it's Roy by several miles, but he's done. He was hampered by a continuously weak-kneed roster and a coach who preferred surrounding Roy with veteran scrubs with marginal skills rather than develop some of the best young talents we've ever had. But at this point in their careers Roy is the clear winner. He pretty much carried an entire team for several years, saving the fans from much embarrassment.

 

[PapaG]

I'd like to vote for Damian Lillard, but that's not an option.

 

[PapaG]

Agree. Roy had amazing games, but he was selfish and played zero defense. At least lillard tries on defense

What a bullshit post.

 

[KeepOnRollin]

What a bullshit post.

Roy coasted on D but he played it great when it counted. His block against Melo is one example.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Joe Johnson, also.

 

[Run BJM]

I voted for Lillard. Hes not as good as Roy was in his prime yet, but longevity helps him out a ton here. Seems relatively safe to project him to be a multi-time all-star, and hes already on an elite regular season team. He only has to win one series to win more than Roy. If Roy kept playing I think he easily goes down as the better player, but he only had a few years where he was elite. Dame will likely have a 10+ year career where hes a high level PG, makes all-star teams, makes some noise in the playoffs, and ultimately he'll be remembered by the masses more than Roy.

 

[OneLifeToLive]

If he stays healthy, I think you have to say Damian. He will have the longer career.

 

[OregonHuskerMan]

Better At What?

Damian is a better three point shooter now, but at this point you'd have to combine CJ and Dame together to equal Roy's pure scoring ability.

But yes, in the end, I believe Damian will become better.

Unfortunately, the game consists of a lot more than just scoring - chemistry, attitude, defense, passing, rebounding, defense.

Damian will ultimately be superior (if not already) to Roy.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

What a bullshit post.

How is it bullshit? I can't tell you how many times I'd be at the games yelling at him to guard anyone. dude played matador defense the majority of games.

 

[roywonder07]

The question should be revised as, "Who's better in their 2nd year?" We all know Roy's career is over so Lillard is likely to have a better career in the end if he stays healthy. Anyhow, I think Broy was the better player. Everyone is too emotionally involved with our successful season, and I think that's why they feel Lillard is the better player. Lillard is too one dimensional, if his 3 ball isn't falling he struggles. Broy could shoot the 3, midrange, post up, drive with success, had great handles, won games with his defense (before his knee was shot) and of course clutch as hell. Don't get me wrong I love Lillard, but I cringe every time he drives to the basket.

 

[SpamKing]

. . . Nic said that Brandon Roy is the best player he ever played with . . .

I bet LMA really liked the sound of that . . .

 

[riverman]

So far it's Roy by several miles, but he's done. He was hampered by a continuously weak-kneed roster and a coach who preferred surrounding Roy with veteran scrubs with marginal skills rather than develop some of the best young talents we've ever had. But at this point in their careers Roy is the clear winner. He pretty much carried an entire team for several years, saving the fans from much embarrassment.

Roy was hampered by a weak knee alright..two of them

 

[PapaG]

How is it bullshit? I can't tell you how many times I'd be at the games yelling at him to guard anyone. dude played matador defense the majority of games.

It's bullshit because I think it's bullshit. Lillard and Roy are both great Blazers. Calling one of them out for being terrible in one aspect of their games offends me. If you don't like it, so be it.

 

[riverman]

Roy was really great at finishing and creating his shot. He did not feed his teammates the way Damian does. Roy had some Iverson, loved to ISO and take his man off the dribble. He gave us 3 great years of hope, then 2 years of not really great decision making or basketball dominance. Lillard is a team guy. LaMarcus, Nico and Wes are all better players with Dame at the point than they were with Roy needing the ball all the time. When Roy and Lillard have had an equal amount of time to make a fair comparison, I think Damian will have the more stellar record and bigger impact on the franchise. Now, LaMarcus is the star, the leader and the best player in the modern Blazer era. LA deserves to be recognized for what he is and he is the best.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Someday soon we will go to the conference finals (yes, I'm a homer) and when we do people will forget all about Brandon Roy. If Walton never got us out of the first round no one would be talking about him either.

Winning Matters.
Longevity Matters.

 

[BillBrasky]

Now if we could get DamiEn, the Devil's spawn, we could be really dangerous!