Brandon Roy, the All-Star guard of the Portland Trail Blazers, is reportedly contemplating about playing through a torn meniscus on his right knee and be there for his team in the playoffs.
Though Roy should be commended for even braving through a painful injury such as this one, the Blazers’ management and coaching staff should overrule their star player and tell him to shut it down for the rest of the season. It’s the smart thing to do and the right thing to do.
“I want to play,” Roy told the Associated Press. “It’s the playoffs. You play 82 games and take a beating just to get to this point.”
Roy, the franchise player for a franchise that has been ravaged by injuries this season, suffered a similar injury while at the University of Washington. The injury will require surgery, which will sideline him for four to six weeks.
Roy’s knee trouble is the latest in a long line of Blazer bad luck this season.
Starting center Greg Oden and his backup Joel Pryzbilla were lost for the season because of serious knee problems, and there is no certainty that both will be ready next season. Forward Nicholas Batum missed a great portion of the regular season with a shoulder injury and guard Rudy Fernandez has been nursing a tender back.
The injury bug also hit Blazers coach Nate McMillan, who ruptured his Achilles’ tendon during practice earlier in the year.
Thirteen different Blazers have missed a combined 305 games because of injuries this season, second in the league only to the Warriors.
Even though the doctors have said that Roy cannot do more damage to his knee, which he injured last Sunday against the Lakers, the injury is serious enough that it will handicap him and the Blazers when he’s on the court. He won’t be able to jump, cut or change direction with the same speed and it could also put added pressure on his other knee if he tries to compensate.
So, the best strategy here is to play the healthy guys and hope for the best. Roy’s health should be the top priority and the Blazers shouldn’t risk the rest of his career for one postseason run.
Maybe next season the Blazers should hire a witch doctor to eliminate all the bad omen.