Andre Miller Is Just Being Andre Miller - Brian T. Smith

[ABM]

Nice piece from The Columbian

Andre Miller looked more like a boxer than a basketball player.

A white towel was draped over his head; soft cloth covered his wild hair, obscured his eyes.

And he stood in the middle of the ring, head pointed downward, taking blows.

What is up with your hair, Andre?

Why don't you like talking to the media, Andre?

Why are you so quiet?

Are you always this moody?

Is it going to work out with Brandon Roy?

Questions poured in for Portland's new point guard to answer Wednesday at the Blazers' practice facility in Tualatin, Ore. Questions poured down again Thursday.

Blow after blow after inquisitive blow.

But Miller stood his ground. Stayed strong. The fighter never flinched, never wavered................

 

[Nikolokolus]

I like this part of the article better.

Nate McMillan said he has total faith in Miller. Portland's coach — a darn fine NBA point guard back in the day — said Miller is reminiscent of top-tier former NBA point guards who spoke with their eyes and their hands — not their mouth. McMillan referenced John Stockton. He even name-dropped himself, smiling at the same time.

In Miller, McMillan said he sees an on-the-court quarterback. A player who knows how to run things, and how to find people.

If a teammate is down or out of touch, Miller will lift them up, McMillan said. If a teammate is slacking, Miller will call them out.

Three days into the Blazers' 2009-10 training camp, Miller has yet to disappoint.

When it matters — when the ball is bouncing and the sneakers are sliding — Miller has been the loudest Blazer on the court.

"I got the ball," he shouted Thursday.

"Five seconds! Switch it up. Switch it up!"

He issued commands, sent out directives and put people in position, like a general.

"I'm trying to help those guys get better," Miller said. "And any way I can do that by making passes, they just have to have their eyes open."

Miller has already opened the eyes of McMillan and Roy. And, right now, those are the only people Miller should worry about trying to impress. The Blazers are run by McMillan, and run through Roy. Everything and everyone else is secondary.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Best back up PG in the league? I think so. Steve Blake is also compared to John Stockton, but not because of his playing ability.

 

[MrJayremmie]

Miller has already opened the eyes of McMillan and Roy. And, right now, those are the only people Miller should worry about trying to impress.

And Aldridge!!! He is our leader also!

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Good stuff!

 

[ironcrotch]

Why doesn't this guy have Quicks job by now?

 

[BBert]

Miller has already opened the eyes of McMillan and Roy. And, right now, those are the only people Miller should worry about trying to impress. The Blazers are run by McMillan, and run through Roy. Everything and everyone else is secondary.

Everyone else, including Miller. Does Miller know that?

 

[MARIS61]

"I don't have time at this stage in my career to be making a fuss over all the extra stuff," Miller said. I don't really get caught up in off-the-court politics and all the extra stuff," Miller said. "Just come to work, put in the time and go home."

Maybe it loses in the translation to print (every time he speaks?), but every word that comes out of his mouth seems to be a guy who's mentally burnt out with his chosen career, isn't about to put in any extra time at this point, just looking to secure the best retirement package he can and take it easy the rest of his life.

If he worked a normal job and made these comments and reacted so negatively to "extra duties" he was asked to handle at work, I'd be looking to replace him with a much more enthusiastic worker.

I compare it to old, burnt out teachers who take the whole summer off each year while the hungrier, more enthusiastic teachers teach summer school or get more schooling themselves.

 

[LameR]

"I don't have time at this stage in my career to be making a fuss over all the extra stuff," Miller said. I don't really get caught up in off-the-court politics and all the extra stuff," Miller said. "Just come to work, put in the time and go home."

Maybe it loses in the translation to print (every time he speaks?), but every word that comes out of his mouth seems to be a guy who's mentally burnt out with his chosen career, isn't about to put in any extra time at this point, just looking to secure the best retirement package he can and take it easy the rest of his life.

If he worked a normal job and made these comments and reacted so negatively to "extra duties" he was asked to handle at work, I'd be looking to replace him with a much more enthusiastic worker.

I compare it to old, burnt out teachers who take the whole summer off each year while the hungrier, more enthusiastic teachers teach summer school or get more schooling themselves.

I think he realizes he isn't going to play forever, and wants a ring.

 

[Natebishop3]

"I don't have time at this stage in my career to be making a fuss over all the extra stuff," Miller said. I don't really get caught up in off-the-court politics and all the extra stuff," Miller said. "Just come to work, put in the time and go home."

Maybe it loses in the translation to print (every time he speaks?), but every word that comes out of his mouth seems to be a guy who's mentally burnt out with his chosen career, isn't about to put in any extra time at this point, just looking to secure the best retirement package he can and take it easy the rest of his life.

If he worked a normal job and made these comments and reacted so negatively to "extra duties" he was asked to handle at work, I'd be looking to replace him with a much more enthusiastic worker.

I compare it to old, burnt out teachers who take the whole summer off each year while the hungrier, more enthusiastic teachers teach summer school or get more schooling themselves.

Wow dude.... you read that and this is what you took from it? I've been to school. I've seen those teachers you speak of. The older "burnt out" teachers know the game. They know the environment they are walking into.

It's the younger, hungrier, more enthusiastic teachers who usually can't take the pressures of teaching, and reach their boiling point during the school year. I lived with my buddy and his girlfriend, who just happened to be a first year teacher in a middle school. She came home crying every night because the kids were getting to her. I've seen young idealistic substitutes absolutely explode at kids because things weren't going the way they thought they would.

Not all veteran teachers are good, but most of them understand what it takes to make it through a school year. How to keep their sanity. How to really reach the kids. This is no different. Andre Miller understands what it takes to make it through an NBA season. He's seen all the hype of training camp before. You can nitpick him all you like, but when the ball drops, the lights go up, and the season starts, he's going to be ready. He's going to make our team better. And he's going to help us win a championship.

 

[MARIS61]

Wow dude.... you read that and this is what you took from it? I've been to school. I've seen those teachers you speak of. The older "burnt out" teachers know the game. They know the environment they are walking into.

It's the younger, hungrier, more enthusiastic teachers who usually can't take the pressures of teaching, and reach their boiling point during the school year. I lived with my buddy and his girlfriend, who just happened to be a first year teacher in a middle school. She came home crying every night because the kids were getting to her. I've seen young idealistic substitutes absolutely explode at kids because things weren't going the way they thought they would.

Not all veteran teachers are good, but most of them understand what it takes to make it through a school year. How to keep their sanity. How to really reach the kids. This is no different. Andre Miller understands what it takes to make it through an NBA season. He's seen all the hype of training camp before. You can nitpick him all you like, but when the ball drops, the lights go up, and the season starts, he's going to be ready. He's going to make our team better. And he's going to help us win a championship.

That's what his 4 previous teams hoped, but it never happened and they went their separate ways.

5 teachers stand out as exceptional educators in my memory. They were all young, enthusiastic, engaging, risk-taking (career-wise) individuals. The ones who I remember as a waste of my time were much older and had Andre's attitude of doing only what is absolutely required for employment.

 

[Natebishop3]

That's what his 4 previous teams hoped, but it never happened and they went their separate ways.

5 teachers stand out as exceptional educators in my memory. They were all young, enthusiastic, engaging, risk-taking (career-wise) individuals. The ones who I remember as a waste of my time were much older and had Andre's attitude of doing only what is absolutely required for employment.

Those four teams were the Cavs, the Clippers, the Nuggets, and the Sixers. Four teams not exactly known for their exceptional personnel decisions.

 

[Further]

That's what his 4 previous teams hoped, but it never happened and they went their separate ways.

5 teachers stand out as exceptional educators in my memory. They were all young, enthusiastic, engaging, risk-taking (career-wise) individuals. The ones who I remember as a waste of my time were much older and had Andre's attitude of doing only what is absolutely required for employment.

Nowhere did Andre say this. All he said was "Just come to work, put in the time and go home." As far as I have heard, he has done everything asked of him by his employers. Let's look at his statement. "Just come to work", no problem with that, he is not giving an AI style I don't practice or a Sheed, show up when I feel like it, answer. He says he comes to work. Next "put in the time", Sounds like he is going to be putting in the time working from what I read. He did not say spend a couple hours or do the minimum while at work, he said that he would put in the time. Lastly, "and go home.". What would you have him do after he has come to work and put in the time, sleep at the gym or follow Zach to a strip-joint? After a hard day's work, I go home too.

 

[Erroneous Subterfuge]

Miller knows his body better than anyone else and his status as an iron-man of the NBA speaks for itself. He's earned the right to follow his own particular rituals prior to and during training camp, since they're not disruptive and don't have a negative impact on his performance during the regular season.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I love how Miller is going to be MARIS' whipping boy of choice this season ... you might as well stick with Jerryd, since you'll have a much better chance of being able back that one up (since he's unlikely to sniff the court).

This year is going to be funny (in a "I want to jab an ice-pick in my eye socket" kind of way).

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

I just want to go on record as being 100% OK with Miller's attitude. As far as I have heard he was a little peeved on media day about having to duplicate some procedures for the Blazers PR people; if he is like me he considers his time valuable and is irritated when someone isn't helping him make efficient use of his time.

It seems to me that when he talked about "extra stuff" , he was talking about reporters trying to stir up some controversy.

 

[mook]

My prediction is that Maris will do a 180 on Miller within 10 games. Maris enjoys watching uptempo ball, and Miller is going to do a better job of pushing the pace than any PG we've had since, jesus....a long time ago.

However, even I always find somebody to be down on. Even during the regular season of the 2000 WCF team I still was taking pot shots at Stoudamire. So there's always a scapegoat. My guess is that a lot of us, including Maris, will suddenly start wondering why Steve Blake is getting all these minutes at the expense of Miller, Rudy and possibly even Bayless. (Bayless will see so many DNP's early in the year that a lot of us will extrapolate maybe a little too much when he blows up during garbage minutes.)

It's nothing against Blake, really. It's only natural to pick at over and over again the weakest link in the chain. Last year it was #1 Sergio, #2 Frye, #3 Outlaw.

Outlaw will still get carped at, but we need to use somebody for backup PF, and as bad as Outlaw is, he's almost certainly better than our two crummy draft picks.

So Blake is the logical candidate. He's the least talented player getting major minutes, and there are other guys who could play more.

 

[GoBlazersGo]

Maris enjoys watching uptempo ball, and Miller is going to do a better job of pushing the pace than any PG we've had since, jesus....a long time ago.

Yeah, but Jesus couldn't run the pick-and-roll or play defense!

 

[Minstrel]

I've never worried about the pop-psychological issues surrounding players. Either they are effective on the court (as part of the team dynamic) or they aren't. Kobe Bryant has all sorts of issues off the court, but he's proven successful at making teams good. Rasheed Wallace's attitude only bothered me insofar as it dragged the team down (generally through getting kicked out of games). I don't care if Miller views this as a job, if he's not an outgoing personality. As long as he buys into what the team is doing and plays well, I'm happy.

 

[Natebishop3]

Yeah, but Jesus couldn't run the pick-and-roll or play defense!

He can't hit a curve ball either.

 

[BrianFromWA]

That was Joe Bu.

 

[julius]

And Aldridge!!! He is our leader also!

I like LaMarcus as much as the next guy, but he's not the teams leader. This team eats, breathes, and shits when Brandon tells it to.

 

[Boob-No-More]

"I don't have time at this stage in my career to be making a fuss over all the extra stuff," Miller said. I don't really get caught up in off-the-court politics and all the extra stuff," Miller said. "Just come to work, put in the time and go home."

You either completely missed the point of what he was referring to, or (more likely) deliberately misinterpreted what he said to make it fit your own, personal anti-Miller/pro-Sergio agenda (get over it, he's gone, he sucks, he always did, he always will). You conveniently quoted him out of context. Here's the added context to clarify Miller's response:

The media doesn't matter. The questions don't matter. The noise and lights and hard glare are meaningless.

"I don't really get caught up in off-the-court politics and all the extra stuff," Miller said. "Just come to work, put in the time and go home."

Focused, hard, true work — who can complain?

Miller was referring to is any so-called controversy about who will be the the starting PG on this team and the related off-court politics. His response was very professional - he doesn't worry about that shit. He shows up, works hard, does his job and doesn't worry about stuff he can't control.

Unlike that whiny little bitch we paid Sacramento to take off our hands who always blamed others for his own failures and pouted about not getting more PT when he clearly didn't deserve it. Miller is 5x the player on the court that Sergio will ever be, and 100x the professional off the court. Thank god we dumped Sergio on the sad-sack Kings and brought in a talented, hard working professional to take his place.

BNM

 

[Natebishop3]

You either completely missed the point of what he was referring to, or (more likely) deliberately misinterpreted what he said to make it fit your own, personal anti-Miller/pro-Sergio agenda (get over it, he's gone, he sucks, he always did, he always will). You conveniently quoted him out of context. Here's the added context to clarify Miller's response:



Miller was referring to is any so-called controversy about who will be the the starting PG on this team and the related off-court politics. His response was very professional - he doesn't worry about that shit. He shows up, works hard, does his job and doesn't worry about stuff he can't control.

Unlike that whiny little bitch we paid Sacramento to take off our hands who always blamed others for his own failures and pouted about not getting more PT when he clearly didn't deserve it. Miller is 5x the player on the court that Sergio will ever be, and 100x the professional off the court. Thank god we dumped Sergio on the sad-sack Kings and brought in a talented, hard working professional to take his place.

BNM

"You must spread some reputation around before giving it to BNM again."

 

[TradeNurkicNow]

man I sure hope Miller doesn't come in and average 15/8/4 cos I didn't like what he said during media day

 

[blazerboy30]

My prediction is that Maris will do a 180 on Miller within 10 games. Maris enjoys watching uptempo ball, and Miller is going to do a better job of pushing the pace than any PG we've had since, jesus....a long time ago.

Sadly, you will be wrong about Maris. The above could only be true if Maris had ever shown even a glimpse of logic with respect to evaluating players, coaches or teams.

 

[oldmangrouch]

You either completely missed the point of what he was referring to, or (more likely) deliberately misinterpreted what he said to make it fit your own, personal anti-Miller/pro-Sergio agenda (get over it, he's gone, he sucks, he always did, he always will). You conveniently quoted him out of context. Here's the added context to clarify Miller's response:



Miller was referring to is any so-called controversy about who will be the the starting PG on this team and the related off-court politics. His response was very professional - he doesn't worry about that shit. He shows up, works hard, does his job and doesn't worry about stuff he can't control.

Unlike that whiny little bitch we paid Sacramento to take off our hands who always blamed others for his own failures and pouted about not getting more PT when he clearly didn't deserve it. Miller is 5x the player on the court that Sergio will ever be, and 100x the professional off the court. Thank god we dumped Sergio on the sad-sack Kings and brought in a talented, hard working professional to take his place.

BNM

Thankfully, I'm sure Nate gets it, even if some fans and media people <"cough" Quick "cough"> do not.

 

[mgb]

"You must spread some reputation around before giving it to BNM again."

Funny, I got the same msg.

 

[MARIS61]

Nowhere did Andre say this. All he said was "Just come to work, put in the time and go home." As far as I have heard, he has done everything asked of him by his employers. Let's look at his statement. "Just come to work", no problem with that, he is not giving an AI style I don't practice or a Sheed, show up when I feel like it, answer. He says he comes to work. Next "put in the time", Sounds like he is going to be putting in the time working from what I read. He did not say spend a couple hours or do the minimum while at work, he said that he would put in the time. Lastly, "and go home.". What would you have him do after he has come to work and put in the time, sleep at the gym or follow Zach to a strip-joint? After a hard day's work, I go home too.

Do you vacation 5 months a year, every year?

"Just cut the check".