Not Just Foye vs. Roy

With the Portland Trail Blazers in Minneapolis Tuesday night, one didn’t have to probe too deeply to hear a “Brandon Roy vs. Randy Foye” conversation. After all, the issue has been debated in some circles as if the argument had, despite its infancy, already reached conclusion.

Unfair? Without question. But that’s how it goes in the sports world.

Foye played Tuesday in his 20th game of the season, starting just his second at the point guard spot in the absence of the injured Sebastian Telfair. As it must, Minnesota’s offense runs through Al Jefferson, as it ran through Kevin Garnett last season. Meanwhile, Roy started his 60th game of the season, and Portland’s offense runs primarily through the second-year player. Yet and still, none can seemingly resist the unbridled urge to compare Foye and Roy.

But Wolves forward Craig Smith, who played against Foye for four years in the Big East and is his closest friend on the team, rightfully preaches patience.

"Randy's a point guard that can also play the two, and brings some completely different things to a team than Roy does," said Smith. "He's just going through a tough injury, while having to adjust to a whole new team and situation.

"Roy, on the other hand, has been with that team for two years solid. That's a huge difference, and I think it'd be the same situation if (the injury) happened to Roy over there."

Foye had a big game - with a career-high tying 26 points - in leading the Wolves to a victory over the Clippers on Saturday evening, but on Tuesday it was Roy who led his team to a win. Roy's ability to get to the rim late and a big 3-pointer from James Jones pushed Portland to a 103-96 win at Target Center, despite 20 points and 10 boards from Al Jefferson. The game was well-contested from the outset, as Minnesota’s biggest lead was eight, and Portland's first 7-point lead came with two clinching free throws with 34 seconds left*.
*Scroll below a bit for a complete game breakdown.

"We had our chances," said Wolves head coach Randy Wittman. "The last four minutes, they got to the line and we didn't. We had some really good looks ... But we didn't do a good enough job of driving the ball."

His statement is surely backed up in the box score, which shows Portland's 26 free-throw attempts alongside just nine from Minnesota. Roy, who as usual completely took over the Blazer offense in the fourth quarter, got to the line twice in the final moments, and finished with 27 points on 9-of-20 shooting and 8-of-9 from the line. He added nine assists and four rebounds in an impressive effort. Without argument, Roy is a very good player. For his part, Foye, deferring to teammates for much of the game, took half as many shots but scored nine points, tossed eight assists and grabbed seven boards with two turnovers.

"We have different concepts than Portland," said Smith. "Their concept is to give Roy the ball, and for him to be the playmaker. Our first priority right now is to get the ball inside to Al. If Randy's in the mix, he's in the mix, but right now it can go through the big fella."

More on Foye and Roy
As such ... again ... the comparison is unfair in the larger context of the game and the season. But the argument stems, of course, not because Foye and Roy's names rhyme, but because the Wolves selected Roy with the sixth pick in the 2006 NBA Draft before trading him to Portland for the rights to Foye and some cash. Both made the All-Rookie First Team, but Roy was the R.O.Y. largely due to his 35.3 minutes per night, compared with 22.9 for Foye. When you looked at the statistics per 48 minutes, they were pretty much a wash.

However, after the 2006-07 season - while Roy received lots of love - Foye lived in the gym (not to say that Roy didn’t), was absolutely outstanding at the Las Vegas Summer League, and was poised for a big second year. Surely, players make their biggest jump between rookie and sophomore years, and Foye was ready to show his leap to everyone.

Then he got hurt … And Roy jumped.

With Foye in street clothes and his Wolves struggling mightily, Roy shined, leading his Blazers to a terrific start behind 19.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists. Roy even beat out players like Baron Davis and Manu Ginobli for an All-Star berth, an honor bestowed at least in part due to Portland’s unexpected, 13-2 December. Was he a better player than several left out of the All-Star Game? No. But it was a much better story.

Since February 1, however, Portland’s come back to earth, as the Blazers had gone 7-12 before Tuesday night, just two games better than Minnesota (5-12), who played 11 straight playoff teams in February. Meanwhile, after Tuesday morning shootaround, Foye dismissed the notion that this game had any extra meaning, just because he was traded for Roy on draft day. It’s not just Roy that he wants to be better than, ultimately. It’s everybody else in his draft class, too.

That was the pretext surrounding what otherwise would be just another NBA game of 82. The only bottom line we can draw right now is that yes, Roy's very good ... But Foye needs to be afforded the opportunity to prove that so too is he.

"Everyone just needs to relax on that," concluded Smith. "Everything's going to be fine. Foye Boy is going to save the day. You just gotta have patience."

Game Breakdown
Throughout the game, Foye ran the team from the point in the absence of Sebastian Telfair (sprained ankle), and he pretty consistently deferred to his teammates. He didn’t take a shot in the quarter’s first nine minutes, instead feeding the early hot hand of Marko Jaric, who made 4-of-5 shots for 10 points in the first. Foye tossed three assists and grabbed four rebounds, scoring his first points on an explosive drive to the hoop with 2:42 left in the quarter. Roy countered with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting, and notched three assists to help Portland tie things at 26 heading into the second quarter. McCants checked in for four first-quarter minutes and made all three of his shots, while Jefferson only attempted two shots.

Roy continued his offensive aggression in the second, making 2-of-5 shots to total 12 points along with three boards and his three dimes. Meanwhile, Foye continued to defer to his teammates as McCants made three more shots for 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting, the same total put up by Craig Smith behind 6-of-8 from the field. Smith destroyed an attempted zone defense from Portland, getting to the rim and finishing with ease in an impressive display. Foye was content running the offense and finding the hot hand, registering two more assists as the Wolves took a 54-50 lead into halftime.

The two young teams – Minnesota native Joel Przybilla and Marko Jaric were the only two players over the age of 25 – continued to seesaw in the third quarter. Ryan Gomes scored seven quick points to open the period, and closed it out with a three-pointer from Foye to give the Wolves a 79-77 lead heading into the fourth. Roy continued to take his shots, checking in with 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting, alongside seven assists and four boards. Foye had made 4-of-8 shots for nine points, but produced six boards and six assists to just one turnover.

The Villanova grad helped push Minnesota’s lead to eight early in the fourth, and he then got a few minutes of rest before checking in near the 4-minute mark, with Portland leading 91-90. That was when the Blazers repeatedly cleared out the lane for Roy, and let him go to work getting to the rim. The Wolves countered by feeding Jefferson and taking jumpers resulting from Portland's double-teaming of Big Al, but Ryan Gomes and Rashad McCants couldn't get some good looks to go, and the Blazers' lead swelled to seven.

Foye finished with nine points, eight dimes and seven rebounds, while Smith was big off the bench with 15 points, seven boards and four dimes in 24 minutes of burn. Rashad McCants added 18 points, and Ryan Gomes 16 to the effort. The Wolves are back in action Friday night in Seattle before continuing the trip to Portland on Saturday.