I know this will not please many people in the Portland, Oregon area and it will not please many casual fans who like to think they have the NBA all figured out but I’m going come right out and say it, Brandon Roy is overrated. YEAH I SAID IT! It irks me when I hear Roy mentioned in the same sentence with Wade, LeBron and Kobe or how the Blazers are going to compete for a championship for years to come. For starters, Brandon Roy is not a superior athlete. The physical gifts possessed by LeBron and Wade allow them to dominate a game at both ends of the floor. You are not going to see Roy fly in for a heart breaking dunk or a ferocious block that is going to change the momentum of the game. Roy is currently in his fourth year in the league and has shown no signs of being a lock down defender which is essential if you plan on leading your team to a championship.

Every year in the NBA some team exceeds regular season expectations only to take a significant step back the following season. For example in the 2007-08 season the New Orleans Hornets won 56 games and lost in game seven of the conference semifinals to the San Antonio Spurs. In the 2008-09 season, they won 49 games and lost in the first round to the Denver Nuggets. In the 2006-07 season, the Toronto Raptors won 47 games and followed that up in the 2007-08 season with 41 wins. It happens every single year, and last year when Roy led the Blazers to 54 wins and a 4th seed in the Western Conference playoffs, the Blazers exceeded expectations. The Trailblazers are currently 2-3 in the standings and have already suffered two home losses after going 34-7 at home in the 08-09 season which was the fourth best home record in the entire league. Last season, the Blazers did not get there second home loss until December 12th.

Saying Roy is overrated may seem a little too harsh, I do think he is a very talented player, I just see him more as a Chauncey Billups, Joe Dumars type of player. A big guard that can run the offense and dominate a game by playing smarter than the opposition. He is not going to overwhelm you with his superior athleticism like LeBron and Wade do. He is also not going to dominate a game by creating his own shot, like Kobe. Dumars and Billups are both Final’s MVPs, but they are just two, in the last 20 years. Every other championship team in the last 20 years was lead by either a dominate wing player (Jordan, Kobe and Pierce) or a dominate big man (Shaq, Duncan, and Hakeem).

I’m not saying winning a championship will be impossible, but in order for Roy to win it all, he will need four other great players around him. He will need a legitimate low post threat, a defensive stopper on the wing and a point guard who can put him in better positions to score. Right now, the Blazers have none of that. Greg Oden is a bust, LaMarcus Aldridge prefers to take no contact jump shots, and Steve Blake makes shots and gets an occasional assist however he is a back up point guard at best not a starter. In the 2009-10 season expect the Blazers to take a step back and also expect the gushing over Roy to die down a bit.