ROY in the Rookie Game

The Rookie-Sophomore game was last Friday. This was the chance for Brandon Roy, the leading candidate for Rookie Of The Year, to shine on a national stage. His chance to show the world that he is not just hype, and that he is undoubtedly the best rookie in the league. So how many points did he score?? 6 whole points!

Brandon Roy had a disappointing performance, to say the least. He just didn’t really do anything. He should have dominated this game, or at least stood out… but instead it was like he wasn’t even there. I can’t wait for the Blazers media army to downplay this next week. I can just hear it now: “These rookie games don’t really matter”, “It wasn’t Brandon Roy’s kind of game”, “Brandon’s hand was hurting him”, etc. The truth is that these games do matter, and they expose the relative talents among peers.

Anyway, this is undoubtedly a setback in his bid for the Rookie of the Year award, which in turn is a setback for the Blazers. With our playoff birth looking less likely with each passing game, and Zach Randolph not making the All-Star team, the Trail Blazers desperately need Brandon Roy to win the Rookie-of-the-Year…at all costs. Look for this to be the Blazer’s #1 priority for the rest of the season, even higher than winning games. I predict Brandon will get even more playing time (is that possible?), and even more plays called for him.

I must say that I do feel sorry for Brandon Roy. The expectations for him are so high, and he has enormous pressure to be the Blazer’s savoir. Every step along the way is going to be scrutinized by the media (especially by certain blogs). For Brandon Roy, turning out to only be a “Pretty good” player or a “Solid” player will be a failure. He has to turn into an “Elite” player and a “Superstar” to succeed. I hope he can.