Harper: Brandon Roy Looks "Truly Atrocious" In Comeback?

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Brandon Roy, attempting a comeback from unofficial retirement due to knee surgeries last season, is averaging 6.7 points, 4.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game so far this season. He's shooting 29.2 percent from the field overall and is 0-for-8 from deep. As a team, Minnesota is 2-1. Has Roy's season been as bad as his numbers sound?

Zach Harper of CBSSports.com offers some thoughts on Roy's early work.

As Brandon Roy adjusts his game to his physical capabilities, we're seeing him struggle from a statistical standpoint right away. The rust is everywhere on his game right now. He's shooting just 29.2 percent from the field, hasn't made a 3-pointer in eight attempts,

We saw him miss a number of makeable and open shots in the opener against the Kings. Five of his 14 attempts were wide-open jumpers and he missed all five of them. Four of them rimmed in and out and three of those were 3-pointers. He had a bad game shooting the ball but he didn't have a bad game overall.

Against Toronto, he was truly atrocious. There is no way of sugarcoating his play. He dribbled the ball like it was a football. He couldn't make any plays and he looked like a guy with bad knees. He had one play from memory in which he drove solidly down the left side of the lane on a pick-and-roll. Other than that, he moved terribly.

More from Harper on Roy at AWolfAmongWolves.com (here and here)

Raptors game: Brandon Roy was terrible. He moved fine in the first game, played 30 minutes, and just missed a lot of shots he normally knocks down. In this game, I have no idea if his knees were bad and it caused him to be terrible or if he just couldn't get a feel for the ball. Whatever it was, he looked like he was dribbling a football out there. He seemingly had little control of where the ball would go next. People immediately get paranoid and jump to the conclusion that he's injured and can't be effective

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Nets game: Roy moved a lot better on offense tonight, and while he didn't score much at all, he did find a way to make plays. He found guys consistently inside in the first half, amassing six assists by halftime. Defensively though, he was pretty brutal. After Sunday night's showing in Toronto, people were freaking out. I think with the way he moved tonight, you can calm those thoughts a bit.

bartikuSS at CanisHoopus writes after the win over the Nets...

Roy showed a whole lot more of what he can bring to the table tonight, but unfortunately I'm a little worried there isn't a lot more where that came from. Guy is still shifty and still has a pretty looking J, but he just lacks the explosiveness to really create his own shot anymore. I think he'll benefit from playing in Adelman's system (pass-heavy, creating shots off the ball) and I think our younger players will benefit from playing with him and learning how to act/perform like a true professional, but he shouldn't be starting on this team.

Darth Paxton of CanisHoopus writes after loss to the Raptors...

Roy is a solid option next to Rubio if he can knock off the rust. He can knock down option shots and keep the ball moving. Ridnour is not a good option next to Roy. Neither of them can create on the offensive end or play defense.

-Brandon Roy was terrible! Yuck!

Ol' Weird Harold of CanisHoopus writes after a win over the Kings...

Tough shooting night for many Wolves. Uncharacteristically bad for Budinger and Pek in particular. Hopefully it was uncharacteristically bad for Roy as well, who otherwise looked pretty good (I did not know that "shooting guards" were also allowed to make plays for others, thanks Brandon!). Williams had bad shooting numbers too, and I'm not sure Schved even drew iron on any of the three shots he took, not surprised ... I expect his shooting will be a bit of a rollercoaster ride.

Chip Scoggins of the Star-Tribune writes that Roy sounded upbeat after his debut.

"I haven't won a game in a long time, so it was good to get the first one out of the way," he said.

It didn't take him long. Roy notched assists on the Wolves' first four baskets in a 92-80 victory against the Sacramento Kings. He finished with 10 points, six assists and five rebounds in 30 minutes in his return to the NBA after a brief retirement. Roy had a tough shooting night, making only four of his 14 attempts from the field, including 0-for-5 from three-point range.

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"I think as far as playing I feel good," he said, "but it's just getting the legs back."

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"What's been my mindset with this comeback is do it for myself," he said. "I want to do it for all those nights that I sat there and maybe thought I couldn't. I just want to get out there and prove that I can."

Melissa Couto of the Toronto Sun on Roy's outlook.

"You always have that goal as a young kid to get to the NBA, and once you get there, players ... start to have a sense of entitlement," Roy said before the Timberwolves took on the Raptors at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday. "Being out a year, I think I definitely got that appreciation back for playing the game I've loved my entire life.

"Now when I get on the court, no matter what's going on, I just try to go out there and enjoy it and make the most out of every moment I get to play."

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Though his journey back to the NBA was long and arduous, it all seemed worth it once he stepped onto the court at the Target Center.

"When I heard my name called for my first game in over a year, it was exciting," Roy said. "I put my head down and said a prayer like I do before every game, and I went out there and tried to put all the excitement behind me and focus on helping my team win."

Ray Richardson of TwinCities.com with thoughts from Roy after the loss to the Raptors.

Five of those turnovers belonged to guard Brandon Roy, who also failed to make a shot from the floor, finishing 0 for 3. Roy's four points came from the free-throw line.

More turnovers than points is not the kind of stat line the Wolves are expecting from the three-time all-star.

"I just couldn't get a grip on the ball," Roy said. "The ball seemed to be flying out of my hands, but that's no excuse. I turned the ball over, then I got a little tight. I didn't want to force the issue any more in the second quarter."

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter