Brandon Roy Returns, Turns First Round Series On Its Head

For all it's worth, Brandon Roy returned.

He didn't start, he wasn't himself, he lacked the touch and edge he usually possesses, and he was out of shape.

But that in itself was enough to inspire the "down and out" Blazers to a game four win against the surging Suns.

Coming into this game, many Blazers fans were half expecting another uninspired contest, as known as shooting practice for the Suns. Fans were suddenly asking themselves if this team had been vastly overrated. 

Is Aldridge just another soft forward that was mistakenly thought of as a future All-Star?

What were we thinking when we thought we would upset the Suns?

What the heck is Rudy doing? 

Doubt. And a heavy dose of it, to be completely sure.

Blazers fans were down and out. The team was tired and out of options. The coach had three offensive threats. One was being doubled every time he touched the ball, the other was being guarded by the larger Grant Hill, and well...Rudy was looking less and less like a future Blazer.

But then there was Roy.

To be quite honest, no one really knew what would happen.

He was activated just hours before the game and many around the team just thought that his activation was due to Dante Cunningham's absence with a stomach virus.

Brandon Roy surprised us all. 

I'm guessing he surprised even coach Alvin Gentry.

Watching the post-practice interview, in which Brandon Roy spoke about his ability to play in the Suns series, I felt that something was up. He had a smirk that lasted nearly the entire interview and every time he was asked about the possibilities of his return, he seemed giddy.

Brandon Roy knew he was ready. Even if the coach disagreed.

Well now, we know. 

After watching the revived Blazers run to a 96-87 victory and a 2-2 series tie, you can't help but wonder how much this will effect the series.

After all, the reason the Blazers won the first game in Phoenix was because the Blazers were able to use their offensive weapons to score in the paint. The Suns then adjusted their defensive focus to Andre Miller and LaMarcus Aldridge. Where they were able to double and leave struggling players such as Fernandez and an ailing Batum open on the wings.

The lack of offense out of the shooting guard position (as well as defense) was killing the Portland Trail Blazers and making the Suns look like the best defensive team in the NBA.

With Brandon Roy inserted into the Lineup, they can no longer afford to double Aldridge in the post as often and they will most likely have to rearrange their defensive matchups to focus on Brandon Roy. This means that Andre Miller will most likely not face the much larger Grant Hill and should be able to take advantage of Steve Nash's slow legs on drives to the Basket. 

This also means that Grant Hill will be covering Nic Batum and that Jason Richardson will guard the All-Star Brandon Roy. Richardson is someone that Roy has shown he can take advantage of while averaging almost 27 points a game against the Suns with Richardson guarding him.

Not only does Brandon Roy flip the defensive matchups on their head, he completely turns around the Suns offense.

Without Roy, The Blazers had Andre Miller trying to cover the larger Jason Richardson, thus leading Richardson to play the best basketball of his life. Andre Miller was being guarded by Grant Hill on the offensive end, so when the Blazers took a long shot and the Suns got a long rebound, Andre would have to struggle to get hold of Richardson before Nash and company found him on the break.

With Roy inserted back into the lineup, the Blazers repossess the tempo advantage due to the straight up matchups on both ends of the floor that will allow Portland to get back on defense quicker with their man forcing the Suns to either force the issue or hold back and execute their half court offense.

It's not like Brandon Roy will be 100 percent at anytime throughout this series.

It will not happen.

Brandon Roy will most likely be more of a mental threat to the Phoenix Suns and a psychological boost to the Blazers, rather than a game-changer.

But just his presence is enough to flip this series on its head.