| 05 April 2011
Keith Smart has not been a head coach a full season yet with the Golden State Warriors, but he's been around the game long enough to know not to drink the Kool Aid when it comes to Brandon Roy's game dropping off.
“He’s not Brandon Roy of last year yet, but he’s still a threat on the floor and he can create a mismatch," Smart told Beyond the Beat before Portland hosts the Warriors at the Rose Garden.
The numbers tell one story: 2-3 from the field in 13 minutes last game out against Oklahoma City. In 24 minutes at San Antonio, Roy showed flashes of getting his touch and conditioning back as he went 5-7 from the field for 11 points.
The three games prior versus Dallas, New Orleans, and the Thunder again, Roy looked lost and out of the flow of the offense going a combined 5-16 for 18 points. Maybe it's nothing. Then again, maybe Portland using Roy as an offense decoy is the game plan moving forward.
Take Roy's ground game for example: he's now more inclined to get into the paint and kick it out instead of look for his shot. The ultimate decoy for LaMarcus Aldridge's 15-footer or Wes Matthews, Nicolas Batum, and Rudy Fernandez on the wing.
Either way, Smart isn't buying it and knows Roy is capable of going for his at any given time.
“I think he is trying to fit back in to what the team has already established doing. That just shows you a guy who is in tune with what the team needs, more so than what Brandon Roy needs," Smart continued.
"I’ve read a few things where he said he’s not trying to force anything – it’s just based on what the team needs at that moment. We still know it’s his and Aldridge’s team, but yet here’s a guy who understands in order for them to keep winning, he has to focus on making his teammates better."
In three games against the Warriors last season, Roy led Portland with 31.7 points per game. Now it's time for Roy to turn those kind of numbers over and adjust on the fly.
"That’s what good players do – they make their teammates better knowing they have the ability at any time to go off and score in any quarter.”
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