Miles is Ready to 'Punish Them'

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">MINNEAPOLIS -- The Trail Blazers have been imploring Darius Miles to take the reins of this young team and become an aggressive and dominant force every night. From the sounds of it, the 24-year-old might be getting the message.

Miles said he has a simple game plan tonight when the Blazers open their NBA season against Minnesota at the Target Center:

"Punish them," Miles said.

At times during his five-year NBA career, Miles has indeed been a punisher. But performances such as his 47-point outburst against Denver in last season's penultimate game often are followed by stretches of anonymity.

That inconsistency has ultimately led to the "untapped potential" tag that has followed Miles through stints with the Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland and now Portland. Miles says that label is unfair because he has never been asked to carry a team.

But now that the Blazers are rebuilding with youth, McMillan has made a concerted effort to get inside Miles' head, telling him what he has always wanted to hear: Lead us.

"Basically, Coach said I need to step up, start being aggressive, be a leader, and step into a role that I ain't never stepped into before," Miles said. "Now it's just up to me to do it."

So on cue, Miles has predicted a big game tonight against the Timberwolves, who figure to send vaunted defensive stopper Trenton Hassell at Miles. Miles said that won't matter.

"I will punish him, like I have been doing," Miles said. "Regardless of who guards me, it doesn't matter. Trenton is probably their top defender, but I have been posting Trent for years. He doesn't have anything that I haven't seen."

Normally, that type of talk could cause a coach to cringe, knowing it provides the Timberwolves with bulletin-board fodder, but McMillan on Tuesday got a twinkle in his eye when he heard Miles' vow to "punish" Minnesota. </div>

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