So I have decided to scrap the daily wrap-ups to focus on writing better recaps, and to try to retake some small portion of the sleep that I have lost. That being said, I felt like it had to be mentioned that Brandon Roy was awesome tonight, and should be lauded for his efforts. There is an excellent piece over at Portland Roundball Society that explains the effort better than I can, but a performance like this has to be written about.
Following this game, you realize very quickly that injuries are a part of it. Players get banged up throughout a grueling 82 game season. When the athletes are as big and strong as these are, playing as hard as they do, it is inevitable. Usually players return in time, and eventually return to their old selves. Guys like Andrew Bynum have literally made a career out of coming back from constant injuries to do big things.
Other times, it is different. Players like Grant Hill, Yao Ming, and Greg Oden have all took hard falls that have sidetracked their careers for years. Grant Hill found his way back, but is far from the successor to Jordan's throne that many thought he could be at the time. Oden and Yao hope to be as lucky one day.
Roy's injuries to both his knees, requiring micro-fracture surgery, were supposed to sound the death-knell for his career. Basketball, much like any athletic endeavor, requires you to have lightning-quick mobility and the ability to side-step, jump, and run with confidence. After all of the damage to Roy's knees, many though he was done for forever.
Hopefully today's performance will change that. Brandon was a flash of his old self tonight, nailing jumpers with ease, diving into the lane with reckless abandon. Skills like the ones he displayed tonight are the reason that he was once thought of as the third best shooting guard in the business, behind only Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade.
Sport is a funny thing. These teams bring entertainment and water-cooler discussion sure enough, but sometimes they bring more than that. The narrative often tells a tale of the pursuit of greatness, of winning, of being the best. Sometimes it tells a story of loss, crushing defeat, and amazing talent and grace and beauty, taken from the world before it should have been. We've all experienced loss in one form or another in our lives. We all know that all too often, you can't get back what you once had.
But sometimes, when the stars align, and everything is just right, you can capture the lightning of old in a bottle, if only for a night. Sometimes, for those willing to fight, you can redeem yourself for the failures that were beyond your control. And sometimes that one luminous moment is all you need to see the path back to greatness.
No one can know for sure what the future hold for Brandon Roy. Right now, it doesn't matter. All I know is that as I watched this game, witnessing this player comeback from the dead, from nearly breaking down on the sidelines days before to being the hero tonight, I couldn't help but smile.
So thank you, Brandon Roy, for proving to us once more that the old sports cliche is true.
It ain't over, 'till its over.
Photo courtesy Rick Bowmer, AP
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