The Official Site of Brandon Roy

Sat, Dec 11th 2010, 09:43

Q and A: Brandon discusses his health/minutes

The Trail Blazers defeated the Phoenix Suns 101-94 Friday night, winning their fourth consecutive game. Brandon Roy finished with a game-high 26 points and six assists in 41 minutes — the most he’s played in regulation this season — and showed glimpses of being the Brandon Roy of old. After the game, Roy said he’s finished playing with a 35-minute per-game restriction and acknowledged that he’s playing with an “attitude.” Here’s a transcript of the interview:

Q: You played a lot of minutes. Coach Nate McMillan said you told team trainer Jay Jensen that you felt good.

A: “I just wanted to play. I’m done with the whole minutes thing. I just want to play. So I told Jay let’s just open it up and start playing and no more monitoring minutes.”

Q: What do you mean?

A: “No more monitoring minutes, I’m just going to play.”

Q: That’s what you said?

A: “Yeah.”

Q: Is that because of your body or because you don’t feel like you’re getting in a rhythm or what?

A: “Just bad rhythm. I’m not that kind of player. Maybe when I’m older, but right now I’m fine so I just want to play.”

Q: So you’re thinking you still have it health-wise?

A: “Yeah.”

Q: You seem kind of mad sometimes on the court. Your body language is different. Do you feel embattled right now?

A: “No. It’s just being aggressive. I’m the type of person, I think I decide my outcomes and it’s just being more focused, more motivated. So it’s just trying to go out and play that way.”

Q: Do you feel like people are slighting you?

A: “No. I think I slight myself. I’m not big on what people say. I’m the type of person that I judge myself and I haven’t been very happy with myself. So I have to motivate myself sometimes and I feel like I’m motivated now. So I just try to go out there and be aggressive and play with some attitude.

Q: What was it that you didn’t like about yourself?

A: “It’s between me. Just myself.”

Q: The way you look, the way you played?

A: “Nah, just with my play. Just upset with my play.”

Q: What was the turning point?

A: “No one moment. It just built up and I finally just said, ‘There are two ways to go. You can keep it up or you can do something about it.’ So I just decided to do something about it.”

Q: Obviously your body is not allowing you to do some of the things you used to do. How are you finding that balance?

A: “Not worrying about it anymore. If I’m going to be hurt, I’m going to be hurt. If I’m going to play, I’m going to play. So no more trying to balance it during games. If I’m going to play, I’m going to play. If I feel good enough, then I’m going to play.”

Q: So you feel like you’re holding yourself back?

A: “Maybe a little bit. Like I said, most things that go on with me are usually myself. There are some things that were bugging me early and I think some of the treatments and things I’ve been doing has helped. So I feel like, hey, let’s go play.”

Continue reading….