Sun sets on Roy, and dims Blazers’ day

On the NBA

By kerry eggers

The Portland Tribune, Mar 21, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

Blazer Brandon Roy, had a hard night Tuesday, with Phoenix’s Raja Bell shutting down his scoring.

JONATHAN DANIEL / GETTY IMAGES

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Tuesday night at the Rose Garden, Brandon Roy wore Raja Bell like a sleeveless sweater for 48 minutes in the Trail Blazers’ loss to the Phoenix Suns.

For those pulling for the Portland quintet, Bell hounding Roy into a 3-for-14, six-point performance wasn’t a pretty sight.

It illustrates one of the problems with a team that has somehow managed a winning record despite serving as the NBA’s worst team in points in the paint and fastbreak points.

The Blazers depend on Roy to score, and when he doesn’t, look out.

LaMarcus Aldridge had a near career scoring night with 31 points, but the Suns figured they could live with that if they shut down Roy. Bell didn’t worry about help defense; he simply shadowed Roy’s every move. The strategy worked.

“Raja didn’t give me any shots,” Roy says. “Every time somebody drove, he was just standing there looking me right in the face, like he didn’t care about what was going on the rest of the game.”

Roy has been remarkably consistent in scoring this season despite being the focus of the opponent’s defense. He has fallen short of double figures only seven times in 64 games. Portland is 2-5 in those games.

“It showed (Tuesday),” he says. “I can’t play a game where I’m just rebounding and (dishing) assists. I have to score some points. Six points is not enough.”

Bell and San Antonio’s Bruce Bowen have been the most effective defending Roy this season, but tonight at the Garden, L.A. Clipper coach Mike Dunleavy will try to mirror their effort with somebody riding in Roy’s shorts. What can the Blazers do to counter it?

“Maybe we should do a couple of things – screen off the ball to try to free me up a little bit, or something,” Roy suggests.

But coach Nate McMillan says the Suns used, in effect, a box-and-one against Roy, with every player on the floor besides Bell paying attention to Portland’s all-star guard.

“You have to have other guys make shots,” McMillan says. “His teammates have to create some opportunities. You go to Travis (Outlaw); you go to LaMarcus, and then you try to kind of sneak Brandon back in there. You don’t go away from (Roy), but you can’t just force it either.

“It doesn’t make a difference how many screens you set. (Bell) is chasing him and running through screens, and the weak side is helping on (Roy). We ran him off screens, off some pick-and-rolls, off some pindowns. But when a (defender) is face-guarding you and not allowing you to use the screen, you have to counter that.”

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