Commentary: Spurs remain a thorn in Roy’s side

There is more than desire in Brandon Roy’s voice whenever he has mentioned San Antonio this fall.

The Portland Trail Blazers All-Star has raised the topic of the Western Conference’s standard for excellence several times in the last month, many times unsolicited. Usually it will start with a comment about his desire to beat the Spurs. But it is always wrapped up with the same statement.

“I haven’t beat them since I’ve been a pro,” Roy will say with direct seriousness about tonight’s home-opening opponent. And it is never spoken with a tone of want.

He says it with a tone of need.

The Spurs represent something more than just an opponent to Roy. They are the NBA’s standard for excellence. They are what the Blazers hope to develop into. And for Portland to reach its lofty goals, beating San Antonio — and established conference powers like them — is the necessary next step toward becoming truly competitive.

Forget the popular fan formula — the one that says adding Greg Oden and Rudy Fernandez to last year’s 41-41 team will equal a playoff berth. The path to the postseason is actually much more straightforward — and, perhaps, difficult.

The Blazers can’t go 0-3 against San Antonio, like they did last year.

They also can’t go 0-3 against Phoenix.

And they can’t go 0-4 against Houston.

Those three teams alone played arguably the biggest role in knocking the Blazers out of playoff contention last season. Portland needed nine more wins to reach the postseason; half of them could have been made up simply by splitting their games against those three Western Conference powers.

And that is a lesson the Blazers need to be mindful of tonight.

It is fine to sweep Minnesota or the Clippers. And it is meaningful to win a game at Denver, or to split their series with the conference champion Lakers.

But if the Blazers want to take the next step, games like tonight are where it has to happen.

Roy knows that. It is the reason he has been so focused on San Antonio.

“We’ve got to make up the ground,” Roy said. “This is where it starts. We’ve got to do the best we can to beat the Spurs. And it’s not going to be easy there, so we’ve got to try to pick up one here first. That’s the next step for this team.”

But given the history, the step may be an immense challenge.

The Spurs were one of three teams to sweep the Blazers by a double-digit average margin last year. The others: NBA champion Boston and Houston, who has beaten Portland in five straight games and 15 of the last 18. And Phoenix is no easier, having defeated the Blazers in nine straight games and 13 of 14.

And it’s not just the losses to San Antonio that sting, either. It’s the way those defeats occurred that has left a lasting memory in Roy’s mind. How the Blazers are often treated like little boys playing grown men. How their offense feels slow against San Antonio’s defense, and the Blazers often look like they don’t know what they are doing against the masterful Spurs.

Teams like the Spurs have often exposed how far the Blazers are removed from being truly competitive.

“They’re the standard for me,” Roy said, “because in the West, we’ve beat Dallas, we beat the Lakers. But the Spurs handle us every time. Convincingly.”

That is why a win tonight would be so meaningful for the Blazers’ resurgence. It could send a message about where Portland stands in the hierarchy of the Western Conference.

And it’s the type of win the Blazers must start getting in order to take their next significant step forward.

Brian Hendrickson is the Trail Blazers beat writer for The Columbian. Contact him at (360) 735-4528 or brian.hendrickson@columbian.com. Read his Blazers Banter blog at www.columbian.com/section/blazerbanter