Rivers: Roy Is an MVP Player
Doc Rivers has an eye for MVP caliber players. After all, he spends every day coaching Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. But Rivers also has an eye for potential, not just proven veteran experience. He sees something special in Brandon Roy.
"Brandon Roy is an MVP player," Rivers said. "He's not just a young player. Right now you would have to put him top three or four as MVP."
At only 23-years-old, Roy has emerged as one of the top guards in the NBA. He is averaging 19.1 points, 4.5 assists, and 5.7 rebounds in his second season and the Portland Trail Blazers are one of the hottest teams in the league. In spite of his success and the buzz he has created, Roy was taken aback by Rivers' praise.
"That means a lot," Roy said. "He's got three great players on his team. For him to mention [me], that makes me feel good. But right now I'm just trying to play to help this team win games."
Roy has helped his team win games, 13 in a row to be exact. He has led the Trail Blazers to an unforeseen 23-15 record and they are 17-3 at home. Rivers thinks Roy's talents go beyond the stats and scoreboard.
"He does everything," Rivers said. "He shoots the ball extremely well, he handles the ball well, he defends. I think the thing that stands out -- clearly everyone sees the offense -- is you'd be quite surprised at how hard he plays defensively. He takes the best player every night [and] he guards him at the one, two, or three. I think those qualities are pretty good."
Roy plays the role of both point and shooting guard from the two spot. Steve Blake may be the Trail Blazers starting point guard but Roy runs the team. As a coach who has 21-year-old Rajon Rondo running the court for the Celtics, Rivers appreciates emerging leaders.
"He makes good decisions. He literally is their point guard on the floor," Rivers said of Roy. "They have the other guys on the floor handling the ball at times, but for the most part Brandon has the ball in his hands and he's running the show."
More than half of the Trail Blazers have less than three years of NBA experience. While some young players strive to become the centers of attention, Roy's teammates have stepped aside to let him lead the way. After coaching a squad of struggling youngsters last season, Rivers understands the impact of the Trail Blazers' chemistry.
"I think it helps when your young player is the best player on the team and they accept that," Rivers said. "Most young teams don't and you have to credit (head coach) Nate (McMillan) and Brandon Roy that they do accept that. It's clear when you watch them when they play, who they want to get the ball to, who they allow to make the decisions. That's very unusual for young teams, for the other young guys to accept that he's going to be the man because most of the time they want to be the man."
While Roy is earning the title of "the man," he isn't concerned with being in the spotlight. For now he is concentrating on developing his game and becoming that much more dangerous in the seasons to come. There are plenty of years left for MVP chatter.
"That's great that he sees me as that way, but I'm still trying to get better," Roy said. "Maybe one day in the future."
About the Author: JESSICA CAMERATO
|
|
Jessica Camerato is a member of the Professional Basketball Writers Association and has covered the NBA for HOOPSWORLD for two years, powering HOOPSWORLD.COM and HOOPSWORLD Magazine.
|
|
|
Comments (4 posted)
|
Post your comment
|
| Please be respectful of the writers in your comments or they will be removed |
|
posted By That'sLaughable, 18 January 2008 12:46:26 PM
Roy as an MVP is a joke. He's a great young player. His team has been hot for several weeks. (Let's forget about the quality of team's they've beaten for a moment). But those numbers aren't close to MVP caliber. Those are slightly Richard Hamilton enhanced numbers. He might not even make the all star team, which really calls into question how he can be an MVP candidate?
posted By Geno, 18 January 2008 4:20:46 PM
@laugh: You know what's laughable? The fact that you can't read and haven't watched a single game. It's not about the STATS, EVEN mentioned that in this very article. It's about leading your team, facilitating it. If you actually have seen the previous blazer games you would understand this, but you didn't so your just another ignorant stat whore.
posted By Bill Ingram, 19 January 2008 2:35:50 PM
No need to call names, but the point is made. Brandon is a strong MVP candidate. Watch a couple of games - not just his scoring, but the way he runs the team. 17-of-18? Are you kidding me? That's not just some minor hot streak.
posted By That'sLaughable, 21 January 2008 3:35:13 PM
No, Geno, what's laughable is when a homer fan gets delusions of grandeur. I've seen Roy play, and he's a helluva player. But he's not even in the ballpark when it comes to MVP. Of course it's not all about stats, it's about many things. And leading your team and facilitating it also fits Calderon and Mo Williams. Are they MVP candidates also? Few players in history ran a team better than John Stockton. How often was he mentioned as an MVP candidate? You're probably not old enough to have watched him play. Allow me to educate you. He was beyond incredible, and he wasn't ever mentioned in the MVP race. Roy will be LUCKY to make the all star team. It's not because he's bad, he's not. He's great. But there are THAT many players better than him.
|
|
Checkout HOOPSWORLD on 
& 
