With Brandon Roy likely to be out a long time the Blazers need Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum to pick up the slack and they are more than capable of doing just that. 24-year old Wesley Matthews will be replacing Roy as the starting shooting guard. Matthews has played in 33 games (20 starts) so far this year and he is averaging 31.0 minutes, 15.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 46% shooting from the floor. Nicolas Batum will replace Wesley Matthews as the starting small forward while Roy is out of action. Batum has played in 32 games (23 starts) so far this year and he is averaging 27.8 minutes, 10.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. The Trailblazers are a better team with Brandon Roy healthy but they should be in good hands with Matthews & Batum picking up the slack.

The Trailblazers will be without 26-year old shooting guard Brandon Roy indefinitely due to knee problems. Roy has played in 23 games (all starts) so far this year for the Blazers and he is averaging 35.3 minutes, 16.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Roy is only shooting 39.9% from the floor so far this year. You can tell his knees have been effecting his game as he just doesn’t have the explosiveness to the basket right now. The Blazers were right to shut him down for a while to see if some rest and relaxation help the situation. Roy has now played in 297 games (295 starts) in his first five years with the Blazers and he is averaging 36.8 minutes, 19.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The Blazers hope to have Roy back at some point this year because they are a lot better with him than without him.

UPDATE: (1/14/2011) - Brandon Roy is going to have arthroscopic knee surgery on both knees which will keep him out at least another 4-8 weeks.

The Trailblazers will likely be without starting shooting guard Brandon Roy for the next three games due to a sore left knee. Roy has played in 23 games (all starts) for the Blazers so far this year and he is averaging 35.3 minutes, 16.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Roy is only shooting 39.9% from the floor and part of the reason is that his knees have been barking this year. The Trailblazers will likely use Wesley Matthews at shooting guard with Nicolas Batum moving back into the starting lineup at small forward until Roy is ready to return to action.

The Trailblazers have sent 21-year old rookie forward Luke Babbitt to the D-League. Babbitt has played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Blazers so far this year and he is averaging 3.8 minutes, 0.8 points and 0.5 rebounds per game. Babbitt is only shooting 20% (2 of 10) from the floor and he is 1 of 6 (16.7%) from three point range so far this year. This is a smart move for the Blazers as Babbitt will get some P.T. to refine his game in the D-League.

The Trailblazers have decided to put 24-year old Wesley Matthews into the starting lineup at small forward. Matthews has played in 16 games (3 starts) for the Blazers so far this year and he is averaging 25.4 minutes, 12.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. 21-year old Nicolas Batum will go to the bench for now. Batum has played in 16 games (all starts) for the Blazers so far this year and he is averaging 30.3 minutes, 12.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. This is just head coach Nate McMillan trying to shake things up a little bit.