Please take a moment to read through the following post and give it some thought....

We all know and (I think) can agree that Roy has been our best player. With that said is he doing enough to raise the level of play for our team? I read that Roy has looked "disinterested" and merely going through the motions during the recent pre-season games. Why is this? Looking at the recap of the games and it’s easy to see a less than stellar performance. I know, it’s only preseason, so I will slowiy step away from the ledge!

I have been a long time Blazer Fan and understand what the preseason is for. I seem to remember another player stating..”We are talking about practice? How am I suppose to make my team mates better in practice” Watch this.

Game 1, 4-10 shooting, 2 Rebs & 2 Ast; 

Game 2 1-6 shooting, 1 Rebs & 1 Ast;

Game 3 sits out entire game;

Game 4, 6-9 shooting, 0 Rebs & 1 Ast

Question to Coach McMillan; Are you getting enough from Brandon Roy? “It's hard to tell with these guys in preseason. They are trying to play themselves into shape.  I thought he got aggressive in the second half and started to provide some scoring.” Nate McMillan

Is Roy really trying to play himself into shape? This seems very concerning to me. Does he feel that his game and the Blazers are at the point that they can just turn it on? As much as I HATE the guy, have you ever heard that Kobe has come into the preseason out of shape?

This is the player that has given us such quotes like “I want to win a Championship” & “I will do everything possible to help this team win a Championship”…..We love Roy for making these statements, but are they hallow comments made by other polished professional athlete?  At least it’s the “Both teams played hard”….and  “CTC..Cut the Check”

He can’t get along with Miller (abet the reported “quite” & “moody”) in the back court. "Our relationship,“ Roy said, "is delicate." And… Roy said: "You know, last year I would say I was kind of spoiled and I wanted things to be my way, whereas now I'm a little more understanding that I have to help change on the court to help him fit more, too. It can't just be 'How can everybody help Brandon."' 

“We’re playing well in spots, but we’re not putting together a full game,” Roy said.

But are the Blazers really so established that we don’t need to try during the pre-season games? At some point we also need to hold the coaching staff responsible.

I have to ask the questions is this a product of Brandon Roy being treated like a spoiled star by management and the coaching staff? Or are we starting to get our own spoiled athlete? Are all of the accolades starting to go to his head?

As our undisputed team leader I expect that Roy is leading by example, and if he’s not trying during preseason games or trying to play himself into shape, then where is the accountability for the rest of the team?

As a huge Blazer fan I cross my fingers and hope that this is not the case. I love the players we’ve got on this team and really expect the team to win 50 games this year. Tell me you are not getting excited about Mathews, Batum, Camby (5 blks) and the rest of the team.

But I feel that the question is worth asking….Is Roy a Leader?