People who didn't watch the Blazers sleep on Roy because his skills don't show up on the typical highlight reel and he didn't fill the box score the same way.
But if you watched Roy, you saw that he had some of the most incredible bball IQ in the league. Up with CP3, Bron, and Kobe in the top 5.
He also was the most efficient guard in the league. Portland played the slowest offense in the NBA, so he had to get everything he could out of half-court possessions with the defense set. Yet in his prime he was shooting 48% from the field, 38% from three, and only turning the ball over 1.9 times a game. He made every possession count.
And he as clutch as anyone I've ever seen. I'm pretty sure he led the NBA in game-winners in 2009. Just insane how whenever the game was on the line, it was like he made EVERY shot. He knew exactly what to do and he did it.
Roy basically played like Wade in a sense, but everything Wade did with athleticism, Roy did with craftiness. He'd get the same jumpers, get to the rim unbelievably well for a guy of his athleticism, set up his teammates the same way...even though he did it all 50% slower. The comparison with Harden is good, in that he uses his bball IQ and perfect body control to get places that no one moving as slow as him should have been able to get. He just didn't do that flopping bullshyt and was much better than Harden at pulling off the things he needed to do in pressure situations.
There are a lot of incredible Roy highlights in the clutch, considering he only got two peak seasons.
The greatest trifecta of "game-winners" in an game, ever. These shots are works of absolute beauty:
Way too many clutch shots in this mix when he basically got hurt after his 4th season in the league:
And Roy could yam it too when he wanted to:
Here are a couple of duels in just his 2nd year in the league, matching up against Wade and Kobe. Watching Roy controlling guys in the post, nailing jumpers, and just getting by prime Kobe at will as only a 2nd-year player gives you an idea of the range of his game. He was already elite.
The incredible comeback game, where post-injury Roy on one-leg singlehandedly overcame the 2011 Mavs with 18 in the fourth.
