Yeah, I'm buying into the new level of hype for our boy Roy. You've all heard it, 52 points. You heard it from TNT, ESPN, the talk about Roy is inescapable. The question everyone is asking: Has Roy entered the top teir or NBA players? "Well, how would you define top teir?" Is the first question that comes to mind. Is it the stats you put up? Is it the highlights you create? Or is it how you lead your team? Or could it be a combination of them all? Here is how I would answer the question.

1st- 3 pts 2nd- 2 pts 3rd- 1 pt

Shooting the Ball- They can all score, but how do they compare?

1. Putting up the Points- (Points per game) : 1. Wade (28.0) 2. Kobe (25.0) 3. Roy (23.4)
   
2. Taking it to the hole- All three are good in this category. While all three players rely on their ability to drive, most of Kobe's points come from jump shots. I think that Wade gets the nod over Brandon by just a hair. Really close but: 1.Wade 2. Roy 3. Kobe
   
3. Shooting the long range- Wade is 0.247 from 3 point range. Kobe is 0.295. Roy is 0.364. Roy's percentage is the best (by far) but to say he is a better shooter then Kobe... it just doesn't feel right. Until I saw this: three pointers per game- Kobe 1.0. Roy 1.0. Wade .8. Yup, it is surprising but: 1. Roy 2. Kobe 3. Wade
   
4. Converting at the line- (%FT) : 1.Kobe (0.873)  2. Roy (0.848) 3. Wade ( 0.758)
5. Scoring with out forcing- (%FG) : 1. Wade (0.481) 2. Roy (0.471) 3. Kobe (0.461)

1.Roy (12 pts) 2.Wade (11 pts) 3.Kobe (10 pts)

So on the outside, it seems Roy would be last in scoring ability, but if you look closer, it seems that he actually out shoots both Kobe and Wade. Wow! (Understand that this isn't " scoring ability, but more of a hybrid between all aspects of shooting)

Being a Teammate-So they can score, we get it. But how are they spreading the floor?

1. Wade (7.2 assists per game) 2. Roy (5.2) 3. Kobe (4.3)

Cleaning the Glass- Sure they are guards, but shouldn't they be able to crash the boards as well?

1. Kobe (5.4 rebounds per game) 2.Wade (5.1) 3. Roy (4.6)

Playing Under Control- They all have the ball in their hands a lot, but can they control it?

1. Roy (2.00 turnovers per game) 2. Kobe (2.54) 3. Wade (3.83)

In the Clutch- Do they come through when their team needs them?

1. Roy, so far this season, he has been the most clutch player of the year. The recent scoring frenzy he has been on has left that miracle against Houston in the dust, but that is a shot that wont ever be forgotten. 2. Kobe, he hasn't really hit the huge shots this year. Unfortunately for him, his team has been so good, that they haven't needed him in the last seconds of the game. Tonight they needed him, and his shot did fall. 3. Wade, his team hasn't been able to get into many clutch situations this year. A lot of games have been blowouts, wins and losses for the Heat.

Here is a sweet chart that gives more proof of BRoy's clutchness. (The original post of this chart can be found here. Thanks to munsonbh for posting that!)

The "Awe" Factor- How many times does he make the highlight reel?

1. Kobe, his flashy dunks mixed in the fall away three pointers always seem to been tainting NBA's Top 10. This is what makes Kobe such and acessable player. 2. Wade, he also has his fair share of plays making it to the Top 10. His dunks and acrobatic flying layups are always a hit. 3. Roy, he just isn't flashy. His game winners might make it to the Top 10, but other then that, you just don't see many left handed layups in the Top 10. This is the reason why Roy hasn't gotten the love he deserved before his 52 points burst.

The Teams- How do their teams due?

1. Kobe (Lakers: 21-4) 2. Roy (Blazers: 17-10) 3. Wade (Heat: 13-12)

The Total: 1. Roy (15 pts) 2. Kobe (15 pts) 3. Wade (12 pts) (When a tie happens, Blazers always win the tie breaker. Everybody knows that!)

So, Yes! Roy is a top tier player in the NBA! There is my answer.

So, this last month, I have heard more news about the WNBA ever before. First Candace Parker blows up in her first game and then Parker becomes the 2nd WNBA player ever to dunk before dunking a second time. Personally I didn't know what to think... I mean it was cool for a girl to dunk, but I thought she could have tried to style the second dunk a little more. After people settled about Candace, we had the incedent two days ago. Pretty rough. After getting all this WNBA talk shoved in my face I was on the couch flipping channels waiting for my Court Rivals team to play in its vertual game and also waiting for my beloved Office to start, I found myself watching parts of a WNBA game (Yup, I was that bored). It wasn't anything dramatically different then I excepted: Some pretty tough looking gals playing basketball at a high school boys team's level. That said, even high school boys basketball can entertaining to watch, but it takes some getting used to. I quickly got bored and flipped to Baseball Tonight (notice: some of you might have also done the same thing). So I'm not excactly thrilled with WNBA basketball yet, but what could the future hold? But enough about me, what's your take?

If you haven't heard about it yet, Court Rivals is "a fantasy basketball simulator that you can play for free online. Basically you create a character, join a team and improve your stats and whatnot." (Thank Dheepan for showing it to us).

The first three teams are full, so i went ahead and created a fourth team for some of us acting a little later then our fellow BEdgers.

Name: Red Unit

Password: Oden

Rise with us...

For the team: 1. Let's all try and be about 300 skill points by Friday.

                      2. I'm just going to start the players with the most skill points as long as there is a point (around 5'11-6'3 and good at passing, ball handeling, and shooting), a shooting guard (6'3-6'7 and good shooter and slasher), a small forward (6'6-6'9 and a jack of all trades), and a couple of big men (6'10+ and rebounder, shot blocker).

UPDATE: TWO PLAYERS HAVE BEEN CUT DUE TO NON-ACTIVITY, THAT LEAVES TWO SPOTS OPEN FOR GUARDS. PLEASE NOTE, YOU WILL BE CUT IF YOU DON'T TRAIN.

Brandon Roy

I hope that Brandon can develop into one of top five players in the league with out presenting the issues of a superstar: developing a huge ego (in Roy's case, not to much to worry about. He has showed us all his good character so I don't think that he will develop a bad attitude) and developing selfish play (once again, it seems that this is not an issue worth worrying too much about. Brandon has developed his passing skills a lot, and has always given the ball up when he needed to). If Roy can keep developing his skills without developing these issues we might be witnessing the greatest Blazer ever. He will always be the number one go-to player on our team and will hopefully lead the Blazers to many championships.

I worry about how prone to injuries Roy is. He has come a long way in his two years as a NBA player, and has been able to over come injuries well. I think one of the most important things that Roy has developed is his sense for his body. He knows when he his hurt and knows when he needs to sit. Another good thing is his patience. He has not rushed back from injuries which will help him keep his body healthy. I would hate to Brandon become another young player with loads of potential but plagued by injuries holding him back (knock on wood).

I see Brandon as a life-time starter and a frequent all-star. Finals MVP of the future.

Greg Oden

I hope that Oden can be what the whole organization thinks he will be. I don't think that him scoring 25 points per game is necessary to win, but I do think that he will have to dominate the boards and the defensive paint. He is the player that will be so vital in the playoffs due to his defensive ability. The saying "Defense wins championships", will never, never, never ever change. I hope he will be a quicker Shaq. I think he will be a good ofensive player, but not the scoring juggernaught that some hope for.

I worry about his health. This issue has been felt so majorly this year, but we can hope that this is the last of his health issues that we will see. But unlike Roy, Oden has been seemed to be less patient with his reabiliation process. Alltough his knee might feel healthy to him, that doesn't mean he should go out and play pick up games at 24 Hour Fitness. So much is resting on that knee, and he needs to listen to doctor's orders, no messing around. I understand his eagerness though. As a player myself, I always want to play, even if I'm hurting. I cannot even imagen the tempation of a injured rookie to play. A little talk from Roy about patience would do the trick

I see Oden as life-time starter and an all-star multiple times. Denfensive player of the year of the future.

Lamarcus Aldridge

I hope Lamarcus can find the way him and Oden can play together to macimum potential. Oden will be great, but I think that Lamarcus will feel the big benifit of having a player like Oden on the floor. Lamarcus is an amazing one-on-one post player, very KG esce. With Oden demanding a defensive player to stay on him, Lamarcus will less often be double teamed and be able to score even more. LA's scoring numbers might even rise above Roy's next year due to Oden appearance.

I worry about his toughness. I want LA to get meaner on the court. He lacks the intimidation of KG, and I'm not talking about calk-throwing and fist pumping, but I mean the demeanor that KG carries into games. LA needs to know that he is going to dominate his opponent, and the ocasional fist pump is totally okay with me. We have seen some of this before, LA has no fear to get into it with Lamar Odom, but I want to see that every night. With that intensity, better rebounding and physical play will follow.

I see LA as a all-star on multiple occasion, but more importantly, a player other teams don't want to face.

Rudy Fernandez

I hope he can adapt well to the NBA game. I think it would be great if he came into Blazermania and was a good scoring threat. Players of his type are becoming great players in the NBA. Oversized guards. Not oversized point guards, but tall 2 guards. If he can beef up a little, he could become a T-Mac of lesser magnitude.

I worry about his attitude. Not cocky on the court, but of the court. This might not be much of an issue as I think, but there are some early signs of questionable attitude. He thinks he is hot stuff. Don't get me wrong, confidence is vital, but too much can be stymieing. The reason I think he might have too much confidence is because of all of the demands he gave to the Blazers in order for him to sign. Asking for a lot playing time for him and his fellow Spaniard might be a little much for an unproven rookie. Maybe just over worrying though.

I see Rudy as an asset off the bench. Good scorer for the Blazers and an important piece to the puzzle.

Travis Outlaw

I hope Trout can doing what he is doing, that is improving more and more. He has been improving steadily every year and he has been able to add some skills to his freakish athletic ability which has been proven to a lethal combination for other teams. He has been able to take our team to victory multiple times (ask Memphis and Atlanta).

To be honest, there isn't much I worry about with Travis. To me, worst case scenario he platues out where he is now and contiues to be a good bench scorer. I can't see him getting any worse.

I see Travis as a occasional starter, but mainly a vital piece of the white unit. More game winners to come.

Martell Webster

I hope Marty can keep improving as well. He has also been improving his game, and had a good year last year. I think Marty can still can get much better due to flashes of excellence that he showed against Utah. Dominating quarters like that shows us he can keep getting better. He has develop a good defensive game and for him to keep developing his defensive stopping

I worry about his consitancy. He has been so good at some points of last season, but he also went through long shooting slumps. He often gets stuck in shooting slumps because he lacks the confidence to shoot trew them.

I see Webster as a starter as long as he continues to improve. Another important part of our future.

Jarryd Bayless

I hope he can develop as a good complementary point guard to Roy. I've never really seen him play much, but I think that he seems like a good complement to Roy. He seems like a good scorer, but I wonder about the other end of the court.

I worry that he won't be able to fill all the needs we need for our point guard. I hope that he can play the strong defense that we need from our point guard.

I know I didn't break down my hopes and worries of every player, but I believe that these seven players are our main core for the future. Feel free to add on to my thoughts, and to bring up new ideas about other players.

I quickly excited when I heard about all of the rumors of Portland trying to acquire Barbosa from Phoenix. I thought that this trade would really improve the Blazers because of the versatility Barbosa offers. A lot of the speculated trades included our 13th pick, but now that the draft is over, the likelihood of this trade has fallen. Or maybe Bayless has more value then the 13th pick? Phoenix is looking for a back-up for Nash, and Bayless seems to fit the part. He is a guard that can push the ball and create for himself and his teammates. We Blazer fans have become so used to trades during the draft that we have forgotten about the option to trade after the draft. Has this trade fallen through or can it still happen?