Brandon Roy has recuperated so quickly from Aug. 14 arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, it appears the All-Star guard will merit regular duty through the Trail Blazers' preseason.

Coach Nate McMillan had indicated he would cut back on Roy's playing time to ease him back into action, as well as give rookie Rudy Fernandez plenty of minutes in the preseason.

"I think (McMillan's plan) has changed a little bit," Roy said on the first day of training camp. "Rudy will get his reps, but I'll get mine, too. We have a lot of new guys, and we need to get that chemistry as fast as we can. It's important that I play alongside Greg (Oden), LaMarcus (Aldridge) and Rudy.

"I want to play all the preseason games. I don't want to use the regular season to get in shape. I want to be in there from the start. It's important that I get a lot of reps."

The 6-foot-5 shooting guard is taking part in morning practices but sitting out evening sessions during the opening week of camp.

"I'd say (the knee) feels 95 to 100 percent," he said.

Roy says everything is different with this year's team.

"Our first two seasons, it was like, 'They're young, there's room to grow,'" he says. "But it doesn't feel that way this year. We have the pieces we need to be successful right now. Some people may say that's a lot of pressure, but this is the NBA. That's why we play this game.

"You look around our locker room, we have a bunch of talent. I feel like we can play against anybody, anywhere now. The goal is to make the playoffs. Last year, we dreamed that, but we didn't know how realistic that was. This year, we feel like it's a realistic goal."

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