Starting a team: Deron Williams vs. Brandon Roy

[SalemStoner]

I really don't see Brandon Roy as a PG.

He is at his best when he is scoring, and taking his man off the dribble with his wicked cross and deadly first step. He's got good finishing skills, and thus I would classify him as a 2.

Really? What exactly do you think Tony Parker, Allen Iverson, Tim Hardaway, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, etc do? They break down the defense and pass the ball or shoot if they get a clean look... which strangely enough is Brandon Roy's primary job in the Blazers offense...

But hey, all you homers can keep calling him a wing if you want... it doesn't change the fact that the two biggest reasons Williams has better FG% and assists is due to the stronger talent base and the system in which he plays. Williams plays in a system designed around the P&R with one of the best scoring PFs in the NBA today. Meanwhile Roy runs a motion system with some P&Rs and the best post scorer on the team is on the pine all year with microfracture knee surgery or is another 2nd year player who's more comfortable by far from 12-18ft than 0-6ft or 6-12ft.

I'm not gunna say Deron isn't a great player, but to try to say Deron's a better point because he gets more assists without looking at their surroundings is stupid. Calling Deron a better player because Brandon doesn't fit the preconcieved notions many of you have about who is or isn't a PG is simply assanine. The fact of the matter is that since December 1st or so Brandon Roy has been the Blazers PG, period. He has shown now that not only can he play PG, but he can do it very very well even with a supporting cast that is definately NOT as good as Deron's is...

I think Deron Williams is pretty much my ideal PG, and I'd take him over CP3 for the style of play I'd aim for as a coach. However I'd take Brandon Roy over Deron Williams because I feel like he's able to do everything Deron is on the court while being a superior leader imo.

The thing that pisses me off about this thread isn't that people disagree with who's better, it's that so many of you still cling to the idea that Brandon Roy is a wing and not a point. Brandon Roy is a point because of his personality and his skills... He's not a wing/scorer because while he can do that, it's not in his personality to be the leading scorer on a championship caliber team unless there's several other guys averaging 10+ points. Brandon fully believes in getting his teammates theirs before he gets his, and that in the truest sense of the term is what a PG should be about.

[omeloon]

I'd say Deron. I've always felt as if finding a great PG is harder than finding a great SG.


That being said... you put Roy with a solid starting PG like Calderon, and your backcourt is pretty set. Guys like Calderon and Felton should be easier to get than really solid SG's. SG's with similar value would probably be Redd and Mike Miller. I'm pretty sure I'd take Calderon and Roy over Deron and Mike Miller. It'd be hard to get a PG much better than Calderon, and it'd be hard to get a SG much better than Mike Miller.

[Hunter]

Rather have the pure pg. No knock on Roy, he's gonna be a great player...but PG and C are the two hardest positions to fill and arguably the most important.

[farzi]

Rather have the pure pg. No knock on Roy, he's gonna be a great player...but PG and C are the two hardest positions to fill and arguably the most important.

You obviously didn't A. read the thread or B. watch many Blazer games.

Roy is our PG for now, and most likely nextyear / the future

[Hunter]

You obviously didn't A. read the thread or B. watch many Blazer games.

Roy is our PG for now, and most likely nextyear / the future

He's still a scorer first, is he not?

[BlzrsExplosion]

-= original quote snipped =-

He's still a scorer first, is he not?

Not really, no. Roy loves creating shots for his teammates and he keeps hold of the ball. Roy is the only shooting guard in the league with an AST/TO over 3. In fact, on the season he's 12th overall in the NBA. In interviews when asked about his approach to the game Roy always talks about two things: getting other players involved and playing at his own pace. He's a shooting guard with a point guard's mentality. Deron Williams, btw, is 24th in the NBA with an AST/TO of 2.61....I suspect Williams will reduce his turnovers some as the season progresses...last year he was 11th in the NBA boasting an AST/TO of 3.03. I think Roy has had a better season so far but Williams completely blew me away with his performance in last year's playoffs. Overall I'd say they are pretty even. As a Blazer fan though I naturally would take Roy any day of the week.

[Pai Gow]

deron williams very easily

[meat tray]

Just because he distributes the ball, doesn't change the fact that he is a wing and not a pure point guard. Pippen initiated the offense in Chicago but he was still a wing. Even with Roy in the lineup you are likely going to have a smaller guard lined up next to him to guard the other team's point, whether it be an undersized 2 or another point guard. I'd rather have a traditional point run my offense then a wing player, so I'll take Williams.

[NO-KG-AI]

Add to that, Roy PLAYS with PG's nearly, if not all of the game.

[Fitz303]

I'll take the "SG" with the better A/TO ratio, the guy who takes over in the 4th quarter, and the better defender (the most underrated part of his game).. Roy

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2jLpd2q9Pwo

[WesWesley]

-= original quote snipped =-



Really? What exactly do you think Tony Parker, Allen Iverson, Tim Hardaway, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, etc do? They break down the defense and pass the ball or shoot if they get a clean look... which strangely enough is Brandon Roy's primary job in the Blazers offense...

But hey, all you homers can keep calling him a wing if you want... it doesn't change the fact that the two biggest reasons Williams has better FG% and assists is due to the stronger talent base and the system in which he plays. Williams plays in a system designed around the P&R with one of the best scoring PFs in the NBA today. Meanwhile Roy runs a motion system with some P&Rs and the best post scorer on the team is on the pine all year with microfracture knee surgery or is another 2nd year player who's more comfortable by far from 12-18ft than 0-6ft or 6-12ft.

I'm not gunna say Deron isn't a great player, but to try to say Deron's a better point because he gets more assists without looking at their surroundings is stupid. Calling Deron a better player because Brandon doesn't fit the preconcieved notions many of you have about who is or isn't a PG is simply assanine. The fact of the matter is that since December 1st or so Brandon Roy has been the Blazers PG, period. He has shown now that not only can he play PG, but he can do it very very well even with a supporting cast that is definately NOT as good as Deron's is...

I think Deron Williams is pretty much my ideal PG, and I'd take him over CP3 for the style of play I'd aim for as a coach. However I'd take Brandon Roy over Deron Williams because I feel like he's able to do everything Deron is on the court while being a superior leader imo.

The thing that pisses me off about this thread isn't that people disagree with who's better, it's that so many of you still cling to the idea that Brandon Roy is a wing and not a point. Brandon Roy is a point because of his personality and his skills... He's not a wing/scorer because while he can do that, it's not in his personality to be the leading scorer on a championship caliber team unless there's several other guys averaging 10+ points. Brandon fully believes in getting his teammates theirs before he gets his, and that in the truest sense of the term is what a PG should be about.

Firstly, I never said that Roy couldn't play the PG position. I just think that ideally he is a 2 guard. The other guys you mentioned, excluding Iverson, I would classify as pure PGs.

Having said that, give Roy a traditional PG, and he will excel as a 2.

Bro go back to Roy's days at Washington, or even Garfield and you'll realize that he's never played the PG position as his primary position in his career. He has always played the PG position in spot minutes. He was a scorer and a defender in college, and nothing has changed.

Defensively I like Roy checking 2's better than 1's too. He's got the size and strength to defend standard NBA SGs.

Also, I don't really understand why you're bringing up the different style of plays the two teams play. You're saying that Williams gets to run P&Rs more frequently, and Roy is running more of a motion offense. Yea Williams gets more assists, but I never said that's what makes someone a better PG. Deron Williams fits the mold of a PG, and that's the position he plays. He played that at Illinois, and he plays it now. The system he plays in does not change the position he would play for on any team in the league.