Today's Poll -- Brandon Roy Superstar Evolution Edition

but then I haven’t been at a game live yet. I’ll start paying more attention.

When its at the end of a close game Roy needs to get back on defense first. Otherwise I’m ok with him working the officals.

I have heard the lakers announcers mention how much Roy is starting to remind them of (hold your breath) Kobe, when arguing calls. How he yells on contact and throws his hands in the air. See its gamesmanship. I don’t have a problem with it, but I cant stand it when other players do it to us. Not so bad i guess when its our guy

IMO.

I don’t mind when he gives them the stare or hollers or says something as he’s running back up the court or even talks to them during game stoppages…

but I really don’t like him stopping to bitch with the ball live, and he has been doing that more this year.

Shut up and play. Talk during stoppages.

but he never used to argue…and now that he is arguing a bit it seems over the top. We often get picked on for our “softness” so i guess this is just a way for him to prove he isnt soft.

It’s the right of passage to stardom. Roy will only get more calls in the future, I don’t mind it at all. He’s getting hammered so he should be getting those whistles.

but in reality, I’m somewhere between “shut and and play ball” and “it’s ok, let’s not see too much tough”

I think he’s a little over the top now. I’ve observed multiple times instances where he does that little yell thing BEFORE he even gets hit! It’s a little ridiculous. I actually like how he yells when he gets hit (much better than the “AND 1!” crap people do)……in fact I stole it for my own game……but to yell before you get hit or ARGUE is too Kobe-esque for me.

Stay calm and play. In recent game endings, Brandon has emoted with his shirt. That’s OK with me, so far.

But then I think which other NBA players pull out, take off, or make gestures with their shirts, like throwing them to the fans. Beyond just being more comfortable, what does the shirt out message contain?

I think the change is more than just arguing calls, and I’m torn about it. It seems he’s more willing to take on himself all the pressure of winning. He seems to be better about pacing himself, so the other team is not sure when he will attempt to take over the game or when he will help his teammates play. Thats good. At times I have felt he is a bit too cavalier about going one on one at the end of games, like last night. We know that travis was supposed to cut and did not, but there are still times when everyone knows whats going to happen. B-Roy Iso. Most of the time thats our best option, and I am happy he does it. Sometimes though I worry that we are slowing losing the humble team oriented B-Roy and creating a K*obe type guy. K*be has only recently gotten props for reaching a point where he includes his teammates and treats them well. I hope we don’t have to go through a selfish phase and then come back to being a team oriented guy when things go sour. I don’t think this will happen. But its just something that goes through my mind when I see the changes in B. Mostly I think he is getting better and wants the same treatment he see’s other stars getting.

of getting hammered on a regular basis.

While ascribed to the general theory of playing ball and not worrying about the ref’s, I don’t really know what works and what doesn’t when dealing with officiating in the NBA. It is entirely possible that a ref can develop a mindset that you have to occassionally break him out of. If the refs see Brandon regularly finishing a drive with a basket, even with contact, they might assume that the contact is not affecting him and thereby no advantage is gained by the defender – I believe the rule for a foul is contact where by one player gains an advantage over another. Brandon may feel that if he doesn’t make his point, the official will continue to ignore the contact.

Brandon is our leader. If he wants to talk noise to Paul Pierce & follows by backing it up? Go for it. Argue for calls? Everyone does it.

to whining… there’s a difference between getting your point across and whining….you earn respect by your play….if you feel you are not getting the calls, you talk to refs at slack time…I can almost bet you will get the calls if you have legitimate complaints…once you start jibbering after every play that don’t go your way, you become a whiner….
     Roy is getting pounded because he’s the man….Nate and the rest of the team need to help take some of the burden off his shoulder…..He is often the only guy going to the hoop…he shouldn’t be the only player on the team willing to take some abuse…..You have to establish yourself as a team that gets to the line…Portland is outside shots and our big men are not taking a pounding at all…..This is why Roy could be mouthing off more…out of frustration for the most part……
    The Drexler era teams earned a reputation as whiners….they always made the games tougher for themselves when they didn’t need to……they were good enough without it….

I remember last night during a free throw Stan Van and some magic player were crowding the ref for about 2 minutes constantly jabbering away. Its a part of the game.

However, I think it’s a sign that your head is not quite in the game. Don’t show that you’re rattled — show that you’re going to outplay the other team AND the refs.

I noticed that play, and it was definitely a lapse.

He bulked up and is a strong guy but that wears your body out. He just wants the respect that he deserves.

Roy, to my eye, has always complained a bit about calls. I remember even last year being upset that he wasn’t running down the court after a call. I think that’s part of his game and—like some above—I think it’s something we’re going to have to live with.

What I’m uncomfortable with is the complete deference the rest of the team showed Roy late in Orlando’s game. Mind you, I thought that was a great, well-played basketball game. Both teams were good and we lost on a wild-eyed, one-in-a-hundred, bank-shot three pointer. So I’m not really upset at all about the loss.

But I remember the last play where people were “confused.” I think it was the infamous play where Travis failed to cut. What I remember is Aldridge getting the ball. Our other start and I get who played fantastically that night (I’ll own up—I’ve been very upset with LMA recently and have commented about it but in that Orlando game he was EVERYthing and was brilliant).

LMA got that ball. Not only did he not look at the hoop or the defense, he didn’t even glance in the general direction of the basket. He just threw it right back to Roy like he didn’t even want to touch it.

It reminded me of some other games. What I don’t like at this point in the evolution of the Blazer team is the total and complete submission and deference to Brandon Roy. I want some of our other good players like LMA, Rudy and (God forgive me for saying this as I gulp a giant wad of something down my throat) even Outlaw to have the confidence in their own game to fill in when Roy is in trouble.

In short, I don’t like having only one superstar on the team. I don’t want the team to just hang around and wait for Brandon to do something.

I remember Pippen rivaling Jordan for a while, I remember Shaq and Kobe being rivals, I even remember Kersey and Porter not hesitating when Drexler was around. I suppose there are other example. This is a Roy-led team but it is not Roy’s team in the possessive sense.

This is why I watch Roy and worry about his play without the ball. I watched the Orlando game again last night for this exact thing. Everyone talks about how Rudy is good moving without the ball. Do you know what Roy does without the ball? Not a thing. I’m not expecting Rudy-like sprinting from Roy. Someone astutely said above he has to pace himself for 40min a game 82 games a year. But I also think that the current offense we have—which is four players looking for an easy bucket and then turning it over to Roy—is not a viable option.

In summary, Roy’s evolution as a superstar is more about the evolution of his teammates than about Roy at this point.

Tell me how Roy going to the line more often would be a bad thing. That play that everyone keeps bringing up was not Roy’s fault. There’s no way he’d have been able to get in position in time to stop that shot.

The thing is, Roy is getting back on defense along with arguing the calls. You have to work the refs at least some in the NBA, or they’ll never worry about calling it both ways. It’s not cool to think that an NBA official can be swayed that easily, but that’s the honest truth.

I think people have this idea of the kind of person they want Roy to be, and they think that everything will go his way if he acts in that fashion. Sorry, people. But in the real world, you have to do whatever it takes to be successful.