In Friday’s edition of the NBA Playoff memes: the good teams have closers and the bad teams don’t, the Derrick Rose clutch bot activates late, Brandon Roy makes an impact and more.
Mavericks Vs. Blazers: Brandon Roy’s Tears Turn Into Cheers
Brandon Roy earned the distinction of being one of the first NBA players in the history of the game to complain about playing time after playing poorly and gain universal sympathy for it. When I say “earned,” I mean it. Given everything he’s been through injury-wise, it was sad to hear about him holding back tears after he wasn’t effective enough to play in the Blazers’ Game 2 loss on Tuesday. A year and a half ago, Roy was one of the best players in the league. Now, he’s sometimes coming into the game after Patty Mills.
The good news, though, is that sports always offers a chance for redemption. Roy took advantage in Friday’s Game 3, scoring 16 points in 23 minutes to help the Blazers get a much-needed 97-92 win. It was just like old times at the Rose Garden, if only for a few minutes. Roy entered the game to thunderous cheers, cementing Blazers fans as the most forgiving and passionate ones in the game. He nailed a stepback jumper on his first possession, the kind that was his bread and butter in his heyday. He even got to the rim off the dribble from the three-point line, though we didn’t see a dunk resulting from it. All the while, it was awesome to see.
Read Article >Heat Vs. 76ers: Philadelphia Plays ‘Andre Iguodala Blame Game’ Again
Andre Igouala is the highest-paid basketball player in a city that has a tendency to get very upset at its highest-paid basketball players. He’s a small forward adept at doing everything but scoring and creating a good shot for himself. He also has played on a team without many other players adept at scoring and creating good shots for themselves for several years running.
For the five thousandth time: here’s the deal. Is Iguodala overpaid? Probably a little bit. Is he a bad basketball player? No, not even close. He’s just miscast as a LeBron/Wade type, when he probably is better suited to being your third-best player. Those fans that were booing Iguodala should really direct their ire to management for constantly failing to bring in another elite scorer to allow Iguodala to play to his strengths.
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