Posts tagged Brandon Roy at FanHouse

In case your hangover hasn't been enough of a reminder today, last night marked the end of 2008. So what better way to celebrate than to take a look back at some of the most memorable plays from the first two months of the season? Here are the ones that NBA.com decided were the top 10 of '08.


Numbers two and nine were my favorites, but it's hard to argue with that Brandon Roy shot at one considering the arc on it, the distance, and the fact that it was a game-winner.

So did they leave any out? Trevor Ariza's save to Sasha Vujacic against Boston comes to mind. If there are any of your favorites that were missed, go ahead and leave the YouTube links in the comments.

The NBA on Christmas Day is a tradition at my house. (Well, I like to watch it -- the rest of my family either shoots guns or goes to the movies.) And as a result, I'm highly intrigued by the various storylines that emerge for each of the games that are set to go down.

And this year, there's a spicy little twist to the storylines: tons and tons of new shoes. Well, five pairs to be exact, but they're coming from the game's biggest stars. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Brandon Roy and Steve Nash will all drop new kicks on the public come Christmas Day. And since the folks at Nike.com have been kind enough to share them with us (and a sick new Kobe commercial) we're going to do the same with you.

LeBron's, featured above, are the "Zoom LeBron VI (Chalk Edition)":

"In keeping what has become a tradition in the Zoom LeBron series, the Cleveland Cavaliers star will unveil yet another special Zoom LeBron VI on Christmas Day. This year, LeBron will break out the "Chalk" edition of his signature sneaker when he takes the court on Christmas Day. The Zoom LeBronVI "Chalk" shoe takes its inspiration from LeBron's pregame ritual of tossing talcum chalk in the air before each game. The tongue of the shoe features a silhouette of LeBron tossing chalk in the air. The shoes' colors matches the Cavs alternate blue uniforms. A limited number of the Zoom LeBron VI "Chalk" shoe will be sold at the Quicken Loans Arena on Christmas Day."

More kicks and information after the jump.

There's just something about the Suns this season that makes the other team's best player go absolutely bonkers against them. Devin Harris did it, Dwyane Wade did it, and last night, it was Brandon Roy's turn. You could chalk it up to pace or a lack of defense, but as you can see in this sampling of highlights from Roy's 52-point performance, a lot of his shots were contested, and sometimes, a player just gets into that zone where they can't be stopped.


Despite Roy going off like that, the Suns led most of the way, and even had their chances down the stretch. But an in-and-out three-pointer from Jason Richardson, and a crazy bank shot from LaMarcus Aldridge late -- along with Roy shooting the lights out -- were simply too much for the Suns to overcome.

With all the attention given to the return of Greg Oden this season, you might have thought the rest of the Blazers were chopped liver. Did people forget that Brandon Roy was an All-Star last season, or that LaMarcus Aldridge is a budding Rasheed Wallace clone (minus the occasional crazy, of course)?

That's why it was kind of funny to me when a lot of folks started predicting doom for the Blazer when Oden got injured again against the Lakers. This team won 41 games in the Western Conference with Roy dealing with a bum foot for a good part of the year (Roy only officially missed seven games last season, but he was basically playing injured for a good amount of games).

A young team with tons of room for improvement was already playing .500 ball in one of the toughest conferences in NBA history. That tells me something folks. Basically, with or without Oden, this will be a solid team for years to come.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

In this exclusive video, we talk to NBA All-Star Brandon Roy of the Portland Trail Blazers about his new and exciting young team. Find out why he thinks he's lucky to be on such a good team. We also catch up with Channing Frye, Greg Oden (before his most recent injury) and the newcomer, Frenchman Nicolas Batum, who shares with us the one thing people want to know about his homeland.

Watch the video after the jump.

In his first public comments since undergoing arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, Brandon Roy confirmed to anxious Blazers fans that was in fact expected to be healthy for the start of the year. From Joe Freeman of The Oregonian:

"Yeah, I think I'll be ready for training camp. But I still think we'll take it slow because there's no reason to push it in training camp. I think coach is going to want me to be in shape so I think I'll do a lot of off-the-court things to try to keep my wind up. But at the same time, I like to play just to get my rhythm. I think I'll be back before training camp. But I ... I may not do as much, I'll just try to build it slowly."

Roy actually spoke about a bunch of topics, so if you've jumped on the Blazers bandwagon, you'll want to clear 10 minutes and read the whole article. How many people are on the bandwagon? Consider this: USA TODAY ranked the Blazers (who, mind you, didn't even make the playoffs last year) fifth in their preseason power rankings over the likes of Detroit, Houston and Utah. Even Roy was taken back:

"Fifth in the NBA? (chuckle) USA Today had that? Wow. (laughs)

Get used it, B-Roy. The bar has been raised this year, and everything hinges on you staying healthy.

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

Brandon Roy and his All Star self really transformed this team fast didn't he? Portland was the NBA's biggest surprise early, and despite slowing down, you best believe that everyone is going to be picking them as the "breakout" for 2008-09. So let's get it out of the way -- they're going to be good. No using them to breakout. It's cheating. Especially if Kevin Pritchard does what he normally does and dominates this draft.

Picks: #13, #33, #36, #55

Needs: Point guard. I know they have Roy and Jarrett Jack and Sergio Rodriguez and Steve Blake ... and there's a reason they have so many point guards on the roster. They need a legit true bal to put them over the top.

Best case scenario: D.J. Augustin drops past the point guard needy Pacers, Kings and Clippers. Not likely to happen.

That's a hard foul by Lamar Odom, without a doubt, but I'm not entirely convinced it was a flagrant (though it may have been retaliation for this). The reason it looks bad is the angle at which Brandon Roy hits the ground -- if he didn't land square on his hip and was able to bounce back up, I'm not sure there would have been as much post-play posturing.

(That said, if the Blazers did think it was a dirty hit, I'm not all that impressed with their lack of action. Maybe it's just because I overdosed on Bad Boys highlights Tuesday night, but all Odom had to deal with was a little verbal jawing from LaMarcus Aldridge and Travis Outlaw before being separated by the refs and other players. Actions speak louder than words, fellas, especially when your team leader is still writhing on the floor in pain.)

The Big Lead posted an interview with The Oregonian's John Canzano yesterday that includes no less than five interesting tidbits that all NBA fans will enjoy. There's some humorous Jail Blazer anecdotes in there, but if you're still a fan of the team, you'll likely appreciate most Canzano's appraisal of Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden and the rest of the current core:

I think they could win a championship in three years, and if they do, they won't stop winning for a decade. Roy is the real deal, maybe the best star player I've ever been around. He's got a little Jerry Rice in him when it comes to his professionalism, pride, and work ethic. But some in the organization still think Aldridge still has a chance to be the best player in that draft. Oden, nobody really knows how good he'll be yet, but he's in a position now where this whole thing isn't resting on him. I think the plan is that those three are going to play a long time together.

Canzano is obviously biased in favor of the team he covers most, but if you read about his near confrontations with some of the previous generation of Blazers you'll understand he's not a complete homer. Instead, what I'm taking from this interview is reinforcement that, yes, this club is for real.

Let's face it, Portland isn't exactly a major market, and the fact that the Blazers faded from their hot start and fell out of the playoff race will may make you forget just how impressive their year really was; even after trading their leading scorer in the offseason and losing their top lottery pick, there's still a very good chance they'll finish the year with a winning record. Once all the pieces have a chance to come together (and oh, by they way, they'll be adding another lottery pick this summer), this team should be awfully dangerous come 2008-09.

The Blazers announced that All Star guard Brandon Roy will likely miss two weeks with groin and hip injuries, and could potentially miss the remainder of the season after getting hurt in the game against the Wizards last night, when he landed on the floor and Caron Butler subsequently landed on him.

'I'm not saying there is a guarantee I will be able to come back and play, but if I can, that's my goal,' Roy said Wednesday. 'Even if it's the last two games, I want to give it a try and finish the season.'

That's a great attitude to have for Roy. Of course, it's not surprising that a professional athlete wants to compete and win. In fact, it's actually refreshing to hear most of the time. But for Blazer fans and Portland GM Kevin Pritchard, it probably would seem nicer if it was just what Roy is supposed to say, instead of actually how he felt.

Roy is, after all, the integral part of what appears to be a budding dynasty in waiting (or at least a very competitive team in an already stout Western Conference). In other words, don't be surprised if Roy has played his last game of the season already.