Update: 6:19 PM: The Blazers have sent a text message to the media that reads, "Brandon Roy downgraded to out for Tuesday's game at Memphis."
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So I went back to watch the tape of the New Orleans game this morning with the express purpose of finding something good that happened to help keep our collective mind off of Brandon Roy.
Unfortunately, that tape is about as hideous as the scene from Eastbound & Down a few weeks ago where Stevie -- the guy who looks sort of like a really, really, really goofy version of Kevin Pelton -- makes out naked with his obese nurse girlfriend on Kenny Powers' couch. I'm probably the only person who still watches that show, so let's just pretend this paragraph never happened and keep it moving.
Watching the Hornets tape back, aside from a few effective Andre Miller rubs off of LaMarcus Aldridge hand offs, and some rediscovered energy from Wesley Matthews in the second half, there just wasn't much to like. Rest assured, I'll take another crack at a tape breakdown on Wednesday after tomorrow night's game. The results will almost certainly be better.
Anyway, during the horror show re-viewing I was struck by the sequence of possessions that led up to Brandon Roy checking out of the game. (Yes, this is exactly what I had hoped to avoid.) In the video I posted earlier, I only showed the final play before he went off to the locker room.
Looking back on the full sequence, Roy appears to experience discomfort starting a few possessions before the final play that ended with him jogging to the locker room. I'm not sure that it matters, but in the interest of total accuracy here's the full clip for your viewing pleasure.
(No doubt some of you already noticed during your first viewing of the game.)
The first offensive possession of the clip has Roy a little bit out of sync, but hitting a pull-up jumper, his only made field goal of the game. As he returns down the court, he's not in any apparent pain.
On the first defensive possession, he bangs into David West a little bit on the perimeter and retreats to the weakside glass. As he comes back up the court following the play, he looks down at his leg and appears to be moving with a hitch in his gait.
On the second offensive possession, he walks down to the corner on offense and is totally out of the play. He then returns, walking with his head down, immediately back to the defensive end.
On the second defensive possession, he moves around a bit before following Ariza to the weakside, where he bends over, hands on knees. He's very slow in closing out on Ariza on the wing and appears to be going easy his left leg as he closes out. He doesn't break out in transition after challenging the shot, instead slowly hopping up the court.
On the third offensive possession, Roy again waits with his hands on his knees in the weakside corner and watches the play as a by-stander. He flexes his left knee as LaMarcus Aldridge cans a jumper and walks back on defense.
On the third defensive possession, Roy really doesn't need to do much as the action takes place away from him. He gets back up the court for the offensive possession fairly easily this time (off screen).
Finally, on the fourth offensive possession (the one we looked at before), Roy attempts to take Ariza off the dribble and tweaks his knee, leaving the game immediately.
Is this video totally conclusive? I don't know. You tell me. On these possessions, to my eye, he definitely seems to be favoring his knee more than he did at any other point earlier in the game.
Does it matter exactly when he injured himself? No, not really. What's done is done. But, given the gravity of the situation, I thought it was better to have the full context surrounding the injury than the brief clip I put up earlier.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter