The man who was tenth amongst Western Conference Guards in the first All-Star ballot returns scored 52 points tonight in a winning effort, on national television. It was a massive electric performance from one of the most understated members of the League’s elite. Casual fans, meet Brandon Roy.
Usually it is a bad thing when Roy scores a lot of points; it means his teammates haven’t been accomplishing much. When the team goes cold, Everything takes the game into his own hands. It is no coincidence that the contests where Roy has his biggest numbers seem too often accompanied by the big fat letter “L.”
Tonight was very different from those games. The team put on a hugely memorable performance for a national audience to witness. It was a spectacle, no doubt. But the character of the game was not totally different from the normal type of good Blazer basketball. It wasn’t so much an anomaly as it was a display of everything the Blazers do well, hopped up on PCP and robbing a bank.
This game, like so many others, was about Roy being special and the rest of the team coming through when needed. Roy kept the game ball because it was that sort of night; one of those that will go down in Rip City lore. His individual performance will justifiably blow up the interwebs and teletubes, but it is worth keeping in mind that it would not have been nearly impressive without the victory. And that wouldn’t have happened without clutch plays by Travis Outlaw, Steve Blake, Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge and others. Roy showed how special he is tonight, and more importantly we saw a team that isn’t far behind.
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