Suns 107, Blazers 88 (Suns lead 3-2)

After the Blazers won game four, tying the series at 2 games apiece, I had two thoughts coming into game five.

1. How would Brandon Roy and his knee hold up?
2. If the Suns win game five, I think the series is over. If the Blazers win game five, I think the series is going seven games.

So here we go, the all too critical game five of a tied series. Phoenix had the fortune of being at home  in front of a great crowd, while Portland had the misfortunes of being away with their best player attempting to play through a recently operated on knee. As a staff, a good portion of us agreed that playing Brandon Roy in this series was a very big risk, and probably not worth it. Some have flipped the script after seeing Portland win game four, but going into game five, I was very pessimistic about their situation.

That being said, the first quarter started off solid for both teams as the Blazers held a one point lead. However, in the second quarter, Portland just couldn’t keep up with the Phoenix pace. I thought maybe the Blazers would give this a fighting chance as they were down ten points at halftime. My thought was way off as the Suns outscored the Blazers 27 to 19 in the third quarter. By the time the fourth quarter hit, I was flipping between some HBO chick flick, and this game waiting for it to end. Brandon Roy played 19 minutes too long, as Phoenix hounded him whenever he got the ball. Needless to say, he really didn’t look right, and scored 5 points on 2 of 7 shooting.

Phoenix had a big day from Channing Frye, who is sort of a ‘poor man’s’ LaMarcus Aldridge. Channing’s game was super rich tonight though as he plopped in 20 points to go with 8 rebounds (including 3 three pointers). Phoenix won this game because they ran the Blazers out of the gym, knocked down three’s, and played solid defense.

Moving forward, I want to be the first to say that it is time to shut down Brandon Roy. Shut him down. They should’ve went with the original plan to evaluate him coming back in the next round. Instead, they’ve screwed themselves because even if they somehow pull off this series, there is no way Roy will play as well as he would in the next round if he had sat out.

What this Loss means to the Blazers: Start planning vacations and another doctor’s appointment for Brandon Roy.

What this Win means to the Suns: A good confidence booster going into game 6. The Suns need to come out strong in that game and really get after it, because the Portland crowd will be big.

-G