The Official Site of Brandon Roy

Sun, Jan 25th 2009, 09:39

Roy's defense leads the way

Swarmed by a cluster of video cameras, microphones and tape recorders, Brandon Roy made a stern and poignant pledge after the Trail Blazers’ practice Friday afternoon in Tualatin.

Still reeling from a discouraging loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers and fed up with going-through-the-motion defensive efforts, Roy said he would give the media members huddled around him something to talk about after the Blazers’ next game against the Washington Wizards.

And the Blazers’ All-Star didn’t disappoint.

Roy turned in one of the most impressive defensive performances of his young career, finishing with a career-high and franchise-high-tying 10 steals, to lead the Blazers over the short-handed Wizards 100-87 on Saturday night at the Rose Garden.

Roy, whose previous high in steals was six, tied the franchise records set by Clyde Drexler and Larry Steele and registered the most steals by anyone in the NBA this season.

“When I said that, that’s not what I had in mind,” Roy said, chuckling, about his Friday prediction. “But I guess it worked out that way. From the opening jump, I wanted to make shots, but I wanted to try to set the tone defensively. And I told the guys after the game, ‘That’s just a step. We have to get even better than that.’ Our goal is to go out and continue to play ‘D,’ and hopefully I can continue to lead and be that example for the guys.”

It was a performance that illustrated precisely what Blazers coaches have been preaching all season as they steer this young team on the rise into playoff contention. Offense can only carry you so far. Defense will carry you to the playoffs.

It didn’t matter that the Blazers (26-17) shot 43.8 percent from the field in the game and made just 1 of 10 three-point shots in the first half. It didn’t matter that the bench shot a combined 7 of 24 and accounted for just 21 points. And it didn’t matter that most of the starters played until the final buzzer because the Blazers, though they led by as many as 22 points, couldn’t quite put away the woeful Wizards (9-34).

Because this was about defense.

Roy’s Friday pledge followed a spirited practice that revolved almost predominantly around defense, as coaches urged the Blazers to clog the lane, swarm the basketball and bolster their weakside help defense. The message was received loud and clear.

Inspired by Roy’s career night, the Blazers finished with a season-high 21 steals, which led to 36 points. They blocked six shots and held the Wizards to 47.8 percent shooting.

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