Brandon Roy and the Tortured Fanbase

It appears that the Brandon Roy we have grown accustomed to watching may be no more.  After a few big knee injuries, it has recently been reported that Roy has been diagnosed with Arthritic knee, which basically means that there isn't any meniscus left in the knee, and its simply two bones rubbing together.  Roy will have to take medicine everyday just to reduce the swelling in his knee.  The day after the report was filed, Roy had to leave a game against New Orleans because of the pain, and right now doesn't have a timetable to return, although more will likely be learned today after a scheduled MRI.  Either way, this isn't good news for Blazers fans.

Blazers fans simply cannot catch a break with injuries to their favorite players.  Its a punchline that wasn't any funny to begin with and is just downright depressing now.  Knee injuries have always hit a little bit close to home.  I myself have pretty bad knees for being young, and I also had to watch the Kings title hopes go down with Chris Webber's knee in 2003.  The franchise is just recovering. 

But for Blazers fans its even worse.  They've seen the potential of guys like Roy and Oden up close, and then it all comes crashing down in a heap of torn ligaments and broken bones.  Its just not fair. Its gotten to a point where a typical Blazers fan might know more about the anatomy of the human knee better than a typical pre-med student.

So here's hoping that Roy is able to come back and get back to his All-Star ways.  Here's hoping that Greg Oden shuts up all the haters and ends up having a good career.  Here's hoping that Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews and everyone else remain healthy for long periods of time.  Here's hoping that the Blazers overcome all this adversity and one day win it all.  Wouldn't that be something.

UPDATE:  5 hours after I posted this, it was announced that Greg Oden will be out for the season as he has to have microfracture surgery.  Sigh.

Michael Beasley: Improved Player or Hot Streak?

These are the kind of shots Beasley was hitting against Sacramento.

During the past four games, Michael Beasley has averaged 32.5 PPG on 54.5% shooting from the field and 58.3% from downtown.  He eclipsed his previous career high of 30 twice during this past week (42 against the Kings, 35 against New York).

But is Michael Beasley doing anything different to score all these points?

Roy Hibbert is the Next Big Thing

Confession time.  For the past two years, I have been completely down on Roy Hibbert.  I thought he was too slow, too foul prone, and way too poor of a rebounder to ever become a great center.  There were some good things though.  His post-game showed some promise, and he has always been a good shotblocker, but I never saw him as more than simply an above average option at Center, and probably not that for a contending team.

My whole perspective has changed through these first six games of the season though.  Hibbert looks like a completely different player, and for the better.  Over the summer Larry Bird asked his friend Bill Walton to work with him, and Walton must've done something right (credit to Hibbert too for putting the work in).  He's slimmed down, reportedly losing 23 pounds in the offseason, which has given him more mobility and durability on the court.

Brandon Jennings Still Hasn't Found His Shot

Brandon Jennings was such an intriguing player when he entered into the NBA. He was the first player to try going overseas after graduating high school, avoiding having to attend college and entering the NBA draft after a rather disappointing season in Europe. Because he decided to skip college, he was branded as a knucklehead and many thought character issues would get in the way, preventing him from being a real star in the pros.

Jennings silenced all of those critics with an impressive rookie season. Though he was out-shined by fellow rookies Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry, Jennings was the only rookie drafted in the top 10 to make the playoffs as a starter, averaging 16 points and six assists on the season. In the post-season, without all-star caliber running mate Andrew Bogut at his side, Jennings upped his scoring to 18 points per game and nearly lead his undermanned Bucks squad to a first round upset over the Atlanta Hawks.

Rook Roll'd: 10/26/10 - 11/7/10

Rook Roll'd is the Pick and Scroll's bi-weekly ranking of the current crop of rookies in the league, as well as a look at some of the best individual games and moments from rookies during that span.

Best Single Game Performance:

John Wall, PG, Washington Wizards v. Philadelphia 76ers
29 Pts, 9-16 FG, 11-14 FT, 13 Ast, 9 Stl 

In Wall's home debut, he was impressive, nearly putting up a triple-double (with steals!) and willing his team to victory in overtime.  One of the more impressive things about this game to me was that after, Wall couldn't help but mention that he really needed to work on his turnovers (he had 8 during the game).  That's the kind of thing that makes a fanbase fall in love with you (as long as you put up those other statistics to go with the 8 turnovers of course).

Breakout Rookie Performance:

Eric Bledsoe, PG, Los Angeles Clippers v. Oklahoma City Thunder
17 Pts, 7-10 FG, 2-3 3P, 4 Rbd, 8 Ast, 2 Blk

With Baron Davis relegated to the bench with a sore left knee, Eric Bledsoe was given the starting nod, and his breakout game was a big part in getting the Clippers their first (and to date, only) victory of the season.  He more than held his own against Russell Westbrook, helping to contain him to 16 points on 16 shots.  Bledsoe further cemented his position in the rotation with a 12 point, 13 assist outing the next game, and it looks like Baron Davis might have to fight for minutes when he gets back.

Best Rookie Moment:

Blake Griffin flies the friendly skies in his debut.  I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of these highlights before the season is done.

After the Jump, our Power Rankings

The Magic Are Struggling From Deep

The Orlando Magic have been one of the most efficient and fun to watch team's over the past couple of seasons because of the beautiful 1-in, 4-out scheme Stan Van Gundy has crafted using his all-world center Dwight Howard as an offensive focal point. When the system is working, it produces a lot of wide open looks for the Magic's perimeter players because the opposing wings often double down when Dwight has the ball in the post.

Though Dwight still hasn't established himself as a lethal offensive threat, teams constantly choose to have their guards and forwards try to strip him in the post. And as Howard has grown over the years, his passing may be his most improved skill, and his ability to pass out the post is a big reason Orlando has emerged as a top four team in the entire league over the past two seasons.

Here We Stay

Growing up in the Sacramento area, the Kings have been a big part of my life, and definitely the reason I've been hooked on the NBA ever since.  My fandom started with Mitch Richmond, in his final years with the Kings, and grew exponentially as the Kings became contenders on the shoulders of Chris Webber, Vlade Divac and co.  I became a different type of fan when the Kings began to falter once more, one hoping for a better beginning and looking to get back to the top.

All that would be naught though if the Sacramento Kings don't have a plan for a new arena within the next year or two.  The latest plan fell through a few months ago, and the NBA itself has seemingly given up hope on a new situation, although Mayor Kevin Johnson and the Maloofs haven't ... yet.  I don't want what happened to Seattle to happen to Sacramento.  I don't know what I would do if the Kings moved.  As such, I don't feel that its right for us as fans to simply sit and wait out the situation.

Along with other Kings fans, we have founded a group called Here We Stay (in counter to the Kings current motto, Here We Rise).  A call to action and a mission statement are after the jump.  I know this is a general NBA blog, and I try to keep my Kings fandom out of it as much as possible, but this cause is too near and dear to me to let go.

If you're interested in simply following updates or showing support, follow Here We Stay on Twitter, or "Like" the Here We Stay page on Facebook.

Lamar Odom: Revitalized and Retooled

Lamar Odom had a different feeling about him this summer during the Team USA Basketball mini-camp in Las Vegas, Nevada. He's always been a fun-loving guy but he just seemed to be at ease for the first time in his life. He had accepted his role as a celebrity on the court as well as of it after a year of married life with Khloe Kardashian, he had just won his second straight NBA championship and he was about to go to Turkey as one of Team USA's two leaders.

Odom performed at a high level during the FIBA World Championships, playing his best two games in the final two rounds in the tournament. In the gold medal game against host nation Turkey, Odom put together a masterful all-around game, scoring 15 points on six-of-eight shooting with 11 rebounds and picture perfect rotations defensively.

Whether his experience has given Lamar a new found confidence in himself or maybe playing all summer long has him in shape much earlier than he usually is this early in the season, there is no denying that Odom has carried over his success to the Lakers so far this season.

Stop Looking for the Next Thunder People

As you can tell by the title, I'm a bit exasperated from all the media coverage being devoted to trying to find this years version of the Thunder, or in other words, a young team that didn't win that much last year, but is really set to surprise teams this year and make the leap into the playoffs.  I've heard this comparison be given to the Kings, Clippers, Grizzlies (doesn't totally make sense as they won 40 games last year), Warriors, Sixers, Pacers, and pretty much every team that's young and sucked last year.

But in reality, what the Thunder did last year was almost unmatchable.  They managed to more than double their win total (from 23 wins to 50) despite only really adding James Harden and Serge Ibaka (both rookies).  This team benefited most from the ridiculous improvement of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, as well as a team effort to focus on and improve the defense (they went from 20th in Defensive Rating in 2008-09 to 9th last year).

The team also had remarkable health, with Durant, Westbrook, Green and Sefolosha starting all 82 games, and the other starter, Krstic, playing 76.  That's in addition to 73 games played for Ibaka, 55 played for Eric Maynor (who played 81 all year when you factor in that he started the season with Utah), 75 for Nick Collison, and 76 for James Harden.  That's a steady 9 man rotation that the Thunder were able to count on pretty much every night last year, a luxury most teams never have.  Attribute it to their youth or luck, but its a rare feat for a team to be that healthy all year, and hard to match.

As I mentioned earlier, the Thunder also saw massive improvement from Kevin Durant, who jumped from being a darn good scorer, to possibly a top 5 player in the NBA in just his third year.  Russell Westbrook also saw a big improvement in his game, and became a great second banana to Durant.  A lot of the young teams in the league don't have even one player on their team that has the upside of a Durant or Westbrook, and even if they do, they don't have two, with a solid scoring option like Jeff Green as well.

So stop looking for the "next Thunder" with these young up and coming teams, because what you're likely going to get is the next Grizzlies instead (in terms of win-loss record thankfully).

Hello, Everybody

(Mark Travis is the newest member of the Pick and Scroll Team.  Allow him to introduce himself. - Akis)

Hi, my name is Mark Travis and I'm here to teach you how to dougie, and perhaps talk about basketball if we have any time left.

Why should you care about what I have to say? Well, because I have not missed an NBA regular season or post-season game in a year (save for the untelevised Memphis-Clippers game last season), I spend all of my free time watching clips on Synergy and I am a full-time high school student. I watch everything from Lakers-Celtics to Timberwolves-Cavs and enjoy every second of each. Whether its being stunned by Derrick Rose and his circus finishes night after night or constantly proclaiming that I have a better chance of defending NBA point guards than Derek Fisher, I see and write about it all.

I'll be writing 2-3 columns a week for the Pick and Scroll about all things NBA. You can find more of my work on my own NBA site, But The Game Is On, and you can follow me on Twitter (@Mark_Travis) for a plethora of NBA updates every night.

Michael Conley Receives Big Extension. Why?

Michael Heisley to Grizzlies fans on announcing the Conley Extension

News broke yesterday that the Memphis Grizzlies have given starting point guard Mike Conley, Jr. a 5 year, $45 million extension.  Approximately $5 million is tied to bonuses that Conley isn't likely to reach (he has to become an elite PG, and the Grizzlies have to be a 50 win playoff team).

The big question though, is why sign Conley to such a big extension?  Why sign him to an extension at all?  The reason given is that Conley is a mere 23 years of age, and has shown big improvement during the preseason and 3 games.  Have the Grizzlies ignored the fact that over the last three years, Conley simply hasn't been that good?  He hasn't even been average.  This guy's inconsistency is the reason the Grizzlies have gambled on headcases like Jamaal Tinsley and Allen Iverson.  Its why they drafted Greivis Vasquez this summer and also why they had O.J. Mayo experiment at the point guard during Summer League.  Now he has one good week and you give him an extension, and not just any extension, but one that he likely wouldn't have even gotten in the open market after this year.

(More after the jump)

Trick or Treat: The NBA Celebrates Halloween

Yesterday was Halloween, and everyone likes to get dressed up for the day, including NBA players.  Just check out these exclusive photos captured by the Pick and Scroll team of some of your favorite players in costume.

Kris Humphries, of the New Jersey Nets, was incredibly lazy with his costume, simply taking his shirt off and saying he was Jacob Black from the Twilight series.

LeBron James thought it was funny to don an old Cleveland uniform and go trick or treating in Akron.  Needless to say, most people were not amused.

More Players and their costumes after the jump.