B-Roy (photo. Aaron Hewitt)Thanks to some enthusiastic Blazers’ fans (a lot of them sparked by THIS), Brandon Roy has been at the center of some raging debates here on DimeMag.com lately. At issue is our fan-vote-driven 1-on-1 tournament, where B-Roy appears to be headed for the championship bracket after knocking off A.I., ‘Melo and Deron Williams in earlier rounds. The Roy fans are saying his size would allow him to beat Iverson and Deron, while his defense would swing the game against ‘Melo.
The “size versus speed” debate has continually come up during the tourney, whether it was when Amare beat Lamar Odom, Monta Ellis eliminated Amare, Chris Bosh edged out Jamal Crawford, or Gilbert Arenas took down Dwight Howard. Some of you say size always wins out in 1-on-1, while others say the game is built for guards to dominate.
So to settle it, I went to an authority on 1-on-1 basketball: Paul Rivera, former Dime Lifestyle Editor now cashing Nike checks. PR is a New York City playground vet who’s played pro ball in Puerto Rico and put in 1-on-1 work at Madison Square Garden’s “Last Man Standing” and Nike’s “Battlegrounds” tournaments. A natural point guard at about 6-1, PR has gone up against some of the best ballplayers in New York in 1-on-1, guys of all sizes and skill levels.
AB: So what is it, size or speed that has the advantage in 1-on-1?
PR: “Size always beats speed in a 1-on-1 tournament. Look at it this way…
Keys to a big winning:
- Play solid D: Basically you’re inviting the guard to shoot from deep, knowing that he’s not going to make EVERY single jump shot, and if he comes inside it’ll be difficult for the small guard to score on the big.
- On offense: Methodically back down the little guard until you, (A) score, (B) get fouled, (C) score and get fouled, or (D) tire the little guard out from the constant contact (the equivalent of a boxer working the body in the early rounds of a fight).
Keys to a guard winning:
- Knock down the outside shot all game long.
- Be able to keep the big from just backing him down on every play for an easy bucket.
As a rule, the big just has to play solid while the guard has to play a near-perfect game. The only exception to the above is if you get a small guard who is strong enough to hold off the big on D, like a Derek Fisher or a Chauncey Billups. Iverson is neither of those guys.”
VOTE IN THE 1-ON-1 TOURNAMENT DIVISION FINALS FOR THE EAST & WEST
March 28th, 2008 at 11:52 am
banka says:
Whomever voted for B.ROY over MELO or even AI should re-evaluate their knowledge on the game of basketball. MELO would fuck B.ROY’s world.
March 28th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
rpxxxiv says:
Wow man! When the Blazers win the championship within the next couple of years, you can keep up the hope as Denver creeps deeper into the cellar. Don’t get me wrong, I love AI and Melo is a pretty decent player. But Brandon has the size, quickness and intelligence to hold his own in the post against Melo and stay in front of AI.
But is Melo quick enough to Guard B ROY, or is AI strong enough to keep him out of the paint?
Hmmm. Re-evaluation complete…. Brandon Roy still comes out on top.
March 28th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
daquest?on says:
u must b crazy this is bs roy cant beat ai and melo even kobe( the best defender in the league) said that melo was the most difficult player in the L to defend if kobe cant defend melo roy certainly cant
March 28th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
hahns says:
there is absolutely no way broy can beat ai or melo. no way.
but yes, after playing a guy 2x my size at work, having him back me down every single posession…i thought my lungs were going to collapse by the end of the game.
March 28th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
nick says:
roy has a shot at beating ai, but no chance at beating melo. melo is just too strong. for those that say roy would beat melo, explain this to me then; why do coach’s send the double team when melo is posting up on the block? probably because no one in the league can handle him there at the SF position.
March 28th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
What is this!? says:
I don’t care, Iverson is arguably the best one-on-one player in the league, that is said by not only the fans but the professionals. Roy could barely gaurd Iverson in a team game, so how is he supposed to gaurd him 1-on-1? And what is the excuse for the Blazer fans voting Roy over Melo? When Carmelo is like two times Roys size and a far better scorer. They are just acting crazy.
March 28th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
What is this!? says:
I don’t care, Iverson is arguably the best one-on-one player in the league, that is said by not only the fans but the professionals. Roy could barely gaurd Iverson in a team game, so how is he supposed to gaurd him 1-on-1? And what is the excuse for the Blazer fans voting Roy over Melo? When Carmelo is like two times Roys size and a far better scorer. They are just acting crazy.
And rpxxxip, the way the West is looking right now, the Blazers aren’t getting a Championship no time soon…even with Greg Oden.
March 28th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Celts Fan says:
I LOVE Roy as a player and think he’s probably a better all around TEAM player than AI, but AI would take his lunch money one on one and it wouldn’t even be close.
March 28th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
doc says:
Roy cant fuck with AI or Melo whats wrong with yall.
March 28th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Jflash says:
Can you guys even read? This article just supports the Roy over AI argument…
March 28th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Jflash says:
Can you guys even read? This article just supports the Roy over AI argument…
And DIME, if you wanna get some site hits, just post an article about B-Roy! Us Portland fans are crazy about our team.
March 28th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
What is this!? says:
^^ Can U read? No body gives a damn! And you are one of the people that are messing up the votes. You folks have a link on the Blazer site devoted to this tournament (somebosy already told on you folks) so fans can come vote. We don’t care about the scientific logic of “size vs speed”, we use our eyes and can tell you what would happen with them 1-on-1. And if thats the case, why did AI win out in votes over AK47 if “size always beats speed”, considering that it is more then obvious Andre K. is taller then AI? And it still doesn’t explain why you lunatic fans have Roy beating Melo. You folks are freakin’ nuts…do yourselves a favor and go tell Greg Oden to stop playing in pick up games before he injures his foolish self again.
March 29th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Bron42 says:
i love how he explained it the same way most of us did. if your at least even a SOMEWHAT athletic big, all you would do is wear out a smaller guy. I think melo counts as somewhat athletic, all he has to do is put a body on roy, tire him out and then when roy is tired, the jumpshot stops fallin…its common basketball sense. NO small guard is gonna hit ever shot, but bigs can easily back someone down and get a 90% layup
March 29th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Smooth says:
theres no way brandon roy would beat melo in a 1on1 thats bullshit
March 29th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Smooth says:
melo is quicker bigger stronger is a much better offensive player has a sick post game with a silky smooth jumpshot damn melo would destroy brandon roy, these blazer fans are fools
March 29th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
2 Easy says:
This article just reinforces whats been said this whole tourney. In a game of one on one a big can win when a guard is off by just backing them down mercilessly and wearing them out and a guard can win by not missing their shots because the big is gonna back off of them to avoid giving them layups. That being said we should revisit a lot of these decisions because many of them were wrong and it shows that yes theres a chance that Roy could beat AI despite AI’s great one on one play but he wouldnt be able to beat Melo seeing as Melo possesses a very good combination of size strength and speed. This is just more stupid Blazers propaganda. Roy for ROY all over again. Sad thing is this kid couldnt care less about that stuff, he just wants to win
March 30th, 2008 at 1:56 am
tealish says:
And uh…… Deron is not strongest? That motherf*cker is probably the strongest point in the L.
Nicely done.
Classic Dime.
March 30th, 2008 at 5:34 am
Billy Sunday says:
melo only weighs 1 more pound than roy…..and lets not forget about Roys athletic ability either
March 30th, 2008 at 10:48 am
skywarp says:
for all u guys who think ory will win!… Melo doesnt need to be faster than roy he doesnt need to guard roy outside he just has to play d in the key let roy shoot all he want then when its melo’s turn just power it inside how the hell can MElo loose
March 31st, 2008 at 10:02 am
fiyaman says:
Everyone forgot 1 thing..in order for the bigger gaurd to win he has to have some postup moves.. just cause ur bigger than somebody doesnt mean u can play around the basket.. Roy is a guard who is no used to backing people down. in 1 on 1 hw problem would go to his bread n butter (jumpshot or take to the hole) which I think AI or Melo would win. Now if we talking bot someone thats used to backing down people (say Deron Williams) then maybe u have a argument.. until then Roy cant beat AI