Portland Trail Blazers’ Brandon Roy’s career has been mired with injuries. 
After having a huge impact for Portland during rookie season, where he was named the 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year, injuries began to rear their ugly head.
- 2006-2007: Missed the first 20 games and ultimately only played 57 games due to a heel injury.
- 2007-2008: Injured his right ankle in the final game before the All-Star Weekend.
- 2008-2009: In the preseason, he underwent surgery to remove a piece of cartilage in his knee. He did recover in time to play in the opening night game.
- 2009-2010: Was twice sidelined due to a right hamstring injury. He then suffered a right knee bone contusion and a meniscus tear. He then underwent surgery but returned in time for the playoffs.
He only played 47 games last season and averaged a solid 12.2 points, but he shot 40% from the field (both career lows). He still was able to pull off some magic in the playoffs in a memorable performance versus the eventual NBA champion Dallas Mavericks. In Game 4 of their series, Roy would score 18 of his 24 points to help erase a 23 point Mavericks lead.
After a performance like that, one might start to think Roy is on his way back and maybe ready to pick up where he left off during his All-Star seasons. But Roy doesn’t want to give anyone high-hopes.
“I just don’t even want to put anything out there,” said Roy, who celebrated his 27th birthday Saturday. “I don’t want to get hopes up one way or the other. I’m just trying to work to get better. And if I surprise a million people, that’s better. Hopefully, I can surprise some people.”
“I just want to go out there and play, and that way, Coach can say, ‘Wow, he looks this way.’ Or ,’Wow, maybe not’ … Then we will go from there.”
If you are the Blazers or a Blazers fan, you must be holding out hope Roy gets close to his All-Star form. Especially since, right before the 2009-2010 season, he signed a 4-year max deal, with a fifth year his option, where he will make $14.9 million next season. That’s one hefty investment on a player who obviously had injury concerns before signing said max deal and the Blazers will want to see their investment produce on the court and be the franchise player he has shown to be.
After showing he still can play at a high-level and what could be a long offseason due to the lockout, Roy says his health has improved, but he’s not quite back to form. But there is hope:
He says he doesn’t have the same lift on his jumps as he did during his run of three All-Star appearances. The good news is that he has surprised himself with his mobility, and he has been free of pain and swelling. Plus, his knees feel stronger than they did during the season — in part because of the nearly three months since the season ended and in part because the January surgeries are even further in the past.
Mentally, Roy says he is ready to go and is brimming with confidence:
“I still think you are crazy to put a guy who can’t guard on me. You’ll get exposed all night. So I don’t want to get away from that.
“But I have to get in a position again where the team believes enough in me to make me a threat,” Roy said. “I don’t have to be The Guy, but just a focal point again, to where — not to knock a player — but if Jason Terry is guarding me, then my team can believe I can expose that matchup. That’s part of getting my confidence back to where I can give confidence back to Coach and the organization.”
At this point, Roy just needs to have more mental confidence. He needs to trust his knees will be strong enough. The physical strength will come as he continues to rehab. And while he may not want to set any high expectations, there are: $14.9 million next season, $16.3 million the following season, and possibly $17.7 million expectations to be exact. But those expectations are not his fault. That falls on the Blazers for giving a max-contract to a player who is obviously injury-prone.
