Court Awareness: Thursday Review News Miami Heat

If Tim Duncan had a little brother, or if he were squeezed into a perimeter player's body, you'd have Brandon Roy.

The guy is quiet, unassuming, humble ... and lethal. The only difference between him and Duncan is that Roy will actually smile every once in a while.

Bleacher Report

Friday's action

Williams spurs Sixers past Wizards
Clippers outlast short-handed Pacers
Harris paces Nets in win vs. Mavs
Celtics rout Bulls for 17th straight win
Hawks rally to top Warriors
Bucks cruise by Knicks
Heat holds off Lakers
Bobcats dominate Grizzlies
Durant, Thunder get past Raptors
Jazz top Pistons in 2 OTs
Rockets beat Kings behind Yao
Cavs overwhelm Nuggets

FOXSports.com analysis

Hill: Under-the-radar NBA storylines
Rosen: Howard gets better of Duncan
Hill: Coaches who won't get canned
Galinsky: NBA Power Rankings

Video

Hill: Are coaching changes justified?
Who's impressed Marques Johnson?

Roy's personality allows players like Aldridge, Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez and Co. to grow into their potential, because he doesn't dominate the ball (or the headlines).

Roy may not be the most memorable superstar, but because of his unselfish all-around play the Blazers could become the most memorable team night in and night out.

Other Notes

The Suns can throw up their hands and say they just caught Roy on the wrong night ... or they could own up to some lousy rebounding in the final minute of the game. After Roy rebounded a Steve Nash miss, the Blazers got two offensive rebounds after running down the shot clock on each extra possession.

Confusion continues to reign in Phoenix. Are they trying to improve their defense or have they given that up as a lost cause? It sure looked that way last night, especially in giving up 39 third-quarter points.

Stoudemire's griping about not getting the ball more in crunch time is understandable after his line against Portland: 23 points (on just 13 attempts), eight rebounds, eight assists, zero turnovers. Stoudemire's last shot was with 3:21 remaining.

When the Spurs' big three of Parker, Duncan and Ginobili combine to shoot 14-for-46 (30.4 percent), it's gonna be a long night ... the Magic handed it to San Antonio 90-78.

Jameer Nelson's 24 points and seven assists were timely, but hopefully the Magic have realized by now he'll never be anything more than a decent point guard. It's his fifth year in the league, and unless he pulls a Nash revival, he shouldn't be given the "potential" crutch anymore.

Orlando is claiming contender status now that they're 20-6. I'm not jumping on that wagon until Rashard Lewis proves he's worth his ridiculous contract come playoff time. He can do that by not shooting 5-for-15 like he did Thursday night.

For more from this Bleacher Report writer, click here.