"Andre Miller Will Be Starting By Thanksgiving..."

[ABM]

"...if not sooner."

This, according to Jason Quick's "gut feeling" on this morning's MSP.

I certainly hope he's right.

 

[Shooter]

But will it make a difference? Andre Miller is one of the poorest shooters on the team. If it's not a layup, he apparently can't make it.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

If he's not starting, I know he will be finishing games. He knows how to make the right passes.

 

[Nikolokolus]

The only thing that will make a difference (as far as Miller being effective) is for Nate to get over his fascination with the iso offense and actually start employing some movement, back cuts and a more motion oriented offense ... it also wouldn't hurt to stop calling for half-court plays from the sideline 90% of the game and actually trust his 11 year veteran point guard to orchestrate things on his own.

I thought Miller could work out here, because I figured Nate would actually trust him to play his tempo and his style of play, but now I see that he's possibly mentally incapable of relinquishing that control.

My expectation: Miller will be moved on or right after the December 15th moratorium on trading players signed in free agency over the summer. Moved for whom or what kind of player I have no idea, but apparently it's going to be a short shooting guard who can play defense.

 

[blue32]

Miller starting is a good thing. He has a proven track record. Of course our Coach is too (hands on), but I think he'll be fired, so good news for us.

and that means, if Blake goes to the bench, perhaps we'll trade him and have more Bayless. Win WIN!

edit: my pipe-dream

 

[ABM]

Quick also went on to say that, although it's still a bit too early to tell, the Miller "experiment" may not be working out as planned (Miller "sulking"?)....and that this thing has a "potential" to blowup...ala 2001. Yes, he alluded to the 2001 team.

Interesting.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Dave from this morning's blazersedge.com story...

If you want to jump-start the offensive growth my initial inclination is to hand the ball to Andre Miller in most situations. He penetrates. He runs. He knows what he's doing and he knows what the Blazers need to do. Him being comfortable and in charge would go a long way towards bringing this offense the continuity it needs. The fly in the ointment is whether Brandon Roy is comfortable with that idea. Brandon trumps everything else on this team. Without him the Blazers don't contend, period. As much as you can, though, let Miller do his thing. Watch and see if you don't get fewer awkward jumpers and more inspired play

Couldn't agree more, that Andre needs to be freed, and a lot depends on Brandon allowing it to happen ...

 

[Shooter]

Quick also went on to say that, although it's still a bit too early to tell, the Miller "experiment" may not be working out as planned (Miller "sulking"?)....and that this thing has a "potential" to blowup...ala 2001.

Which only lends credence to the theory that Pritchard can draft, but he can't trade.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Which only lends credence to the theory that Pritchard can draft, but he can't trade.

Trade? Miller wasn't traded for.

 

[Mediocre Man]

He should have been starting from day 1 of training camp. Instead, he had Blake start 5 of the 7 games in preseason.

 

[RR7]

Trade? Miller wasn't traded for.

Forget it, he's rolling.

 

[RR7]

I hope he's starting by Sunday, personally, but will wait if that's what it takes.
Looking at last season, we generally went to Aldridge more in the first quarter than any other quarter. Most see that watching the game, that a lot of times, we run plays for Aldridge to start us off. Aldridge took 5.4 shots per game in the first quarter lsat season. It dropped to 2.7 in the second(a large part of which is probably due to him being on the bench, 4.8 in the 3rd, and then down to 2.4 in the 4th. So with our "main" starting unit, in the 1st and 3rd quarters, we put a lot of focus on Aldridge. If that's the case, and he doesn't tend to kick out super often to an open shooter, then I think it makes more sense to start Miller, who could get Aldridge and Oden easier looks potentially early on, easier than Blake normally would.
I know Nate likes the idea of the second unit running. That's great. I think most just flat don't like the idea of two seperate units. But to humor him, though you don't have Miller leading the way, I think a second unit with Blake, Rudy and Outlaw can still get up and down the floor pretty good. We can still attack with that lineup, and the added bonus would be the shooting that could very quickly make a game get out of hand. I think playing strictly up tempo with our second unit is playing into what a lot of other second units do, having athletic, maybe slightly less skilled guys in the game. I think haveing a unit of Blake, Rudy and Outlaw all capable of hitting a good clip from 3 could blow a team out in a hurry. Could also allow mroe opportunity for Rudy to be a creator on the offensive end.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

The idea that the team and the coach need to adjust to Miller and not the other way around makes me upset the Blazers even signed Miller.

The Blazer don't need to start over, they needed to add a player who would fit in.

 

[RR7]

Generally when you bring in someone talented, there is going to be an adjustment period by everyone, not just the new guy, and not just the current guys, but everyone involved, including the coach.

 

[Shooter]

Trade? Miller wasn't traded for.

You're right. He was signed as a free agent. My mistake. I'm trying to make a distinction between drafting college players and acquiring veterans. Pritchard seems to be better at the former.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

Generally when you bring in someone talented, there is going to be an adjustment period by everyone, not just the new guy, and not just the current guys, but everyone involved, including the coach.

Yes, but do you change the whole offensive scheme and go away from the success the Blazers had last year for Miller?

 

[RR7]

I don't think you have to change the entire scheme. But you can make adjustments to that scheme. We didn't run many plays for Oden, other than him posting up. Our offense was good last year, so to that end, do we not continue to try to add more and more, and adjust our lineup to getting easier shots for Oden? I think we should. Same way, if we add someone adept at running the pick and roll, and getting easy dunks and layups for big men, we should utilize that also. Not make a whole sale change to the offense, and go SSOL, but make adjustments to fine tune the team a bit mroe. Instead of just running a simple pick and pop with Aldridge to start every game, we can try him rolling with Miller. Instead of just posting him up, and allowing him to isolate 1 on 1, we can run a screen with him and Oden. I'm not calling for wholesale changes, but you adjust when you improve on your talent base.

 

[andalusian]

The idea that the team and the coach need to adjust to Miller and not the other way around makes me upset the Blazers even signed Miller.

The Blazer don't need to start over, they needed to add a player who would fit in.

bada bing

 

[andalusian]

I'm not calling for wholesale changes, but you adjust when you improve on your talent base.

The biggest part of our offense was that Roy was the one with the ball in his hands - because he is a superb decision maker and a matchup problem.

Once you get the hands out of his hands - it is a major change.

The question is - are we marginalizing Roy's biggest advantage for the sake of integrating a 33 y/o PG?

 

[The_Lillard_King]

I don't think you have to change the entire scheme. But you can make adjustments to that scheme. We didn't run many plays for Oden, other than him posting up. Our offense was good last year, so to that end, do we not continue to try to add more and more, and adjust our lineup to getting easier shots for Oden? I think we should. Same way, if we add someone adept at running the pick and roll, and getting easy dunks and layups for big men, we should utilize that also. Not make a whole sale change to the offense, and go SSOL, but make adjustments to fine tune the team a bit mroe. Instead of just running a simple pick and pop with Aldridge to start every game, we can try him rolling with Miller. Instead of just posting him up, and allowing him to isolate 1 on 1, we can run a screen with him and Oden. I'm not calling for wholesale changes, but you adjust when you improve on your talent base.

Intersting ideas. I've seen a concentrated effort on trying to get Oden invovled in several different ways, but I see what youa re talking about. I still wonder if this board overvalues Miller . . . and maybe even Oden.

I think it just comes down to what fans want. Fans are excited about Miller and Oden and want them to be a bigger part of the offense (and blame Nate that they aren't). I'm more of blame the players, if they have had their opportunties.


Blazers play SA next. It will be intersting to see if SA has adjusted for Jefferson's game or if they are still basically the same SA team with Jefferson making the adjustments.

 

[RR7]

I'm not trying to take the ball out of Roy's hands. Roy didn't create every single possesion for us. I'm looking to give him a tiny bit more rest early in the games, and when it's not in his hands, to put it in someone's hands other than Steve Blake. To allow Miller to create for Oden and Aldridge, as opposed to them creating for themselves.

 

[ucatchtrout]

Its a myth that our offense was good last year. It was predictable, and the good teams shut us down because of that. Houston shut us down in the playoffs and Brandon was asking for help. Well, now he has help, but he is too spoiled to give up control to someone with a track record of 11 years of success. He needs to shut his fucking ego down and let Andre do what he does and learn to play with him.

 

[RoyIsClutch07]

Yes, but do you change the whole offensive scheme and go away from the success the Blazers had last year for Miller?

I will try to say this without sounding too much like an arse. But I feel Kp was desperate there for a stretch in late July. Unable to sign a top free agent. Unable to close the deal on trades. I think he went through a period where he lost all control and forgot about the kind of players he wanted to add to this roster. He says he is all about finding the right fit, piece? How exactly did Andre fit in here? It appeared a bit shady when they did sign him. And it's looking more and more shady now. I don't know, maybe the real problem with this team isn't McMillan. Maybe it's Pritchard.

Unable orchestrate a deal to thin out a roster. Unable to recruit a big name free agent. Losing his mind due to it and signing players that have no business being on this roster. It's what it looks like from here.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

Its a myth that our offense was good last year. It was predictable, and the good teams shut us down because of that. Houston shut us down in the playoffs and Brandon was asking for help. Well, now he has help, but he is too spoiled to give up control to someone with a track record of 11 years of success. He needs to shut his fucking ego down and let Andre do what he does and learn to play with him.

What does Andre do?

11 years of success, but no one pursued him in the off season, not even Philly his old team(and many teams were looking for PGs).

Miller is quoted as saying he came to the Blazers becuase it was either the Blazer or the Knicks, they were the only two teams interested. And really if teh Blazers got Hedo, it probably would have only been the Knicks . . . and I wonder how interested they really were?

 

[The_Lillard_King]

I got to run . . . I'm not anti-Miller.

I'm just disappointed that in the Blazer stuggles, posters point to Miller as being the savior and Nate holding back the savior of the team.

Go Blazers!

 

[mook]

The biggest part of our offense was that Roy was the one with the ball in his hands - because he is a superb decision maker and a matchup problem.

Once you get the hands out of his hands - it is a major change.

The question is - are we marginalizing Roy's biggest advantage for the sake of integrating a 33 y/o PG?

The problem is that you can only get so far with Roy being the focus of the offense. He's not a LeBron James. He can't single-handedly will a team to 60 wins and a Finals appearance. There's only so far he can take us with the offense running through him.

Portland needs a more balanced approach. We need to get 20-22 ppg out of Aldridge, and 12-16 ppg out of Oden. And we need Roy to focus much, much more on the defensive end. We need better offensive productivity out of guys like Webster and even Joel. Those things just don't seem to be happening with Roy as the primary ball handler, but they could with Miller.

 

[andalusian]

Miller is quoted as saying he came to the Blazers becuase it was either the Blazer or the Knicks, they were the only two teams interested. And really if teh Blazers got Hedo, it probably would have only been the Knicks . . . and I wonder how interested they really were?

The Knicks was probably a better fit for him - but he is only 1/2 of what D'Antoni likes - D'Antoni likes PGs that excel in fast pace (Plus for Andre) but can also knock the long-distance shot (Not so much).

 

[PapaG]

Yes, but do you change the whole offensive scheme and go away from the success the Blazers had last year for Miller?

Apparently so. The entire offensive should be molded around a 33 year-old PG on a 3 year contract who can't shoot and doesn't defend.

 

[RR7]

Intersting ideas. I've seen a concentrated effort on trying to get Oden invovled in several different ways, but I see what youa re talking about. I still wonder if this board overvalues Miller . . . and maybe even Oden.

I think it just comes down to what fans want. Fans are excited about Miller and Oden and want them to be a bigger part of the offense (and blame Nate that they aren't). I'm more of blame the players, if they have had their opportunties.


Blazers play SA next. It will be intersting to see if SA has adjusted for Jefferson's game or if they are still basically the same SA team with Jefferson making the adjustments.

I think there's a legit reason to be excited about both. I think we'll see that if he's given the chance to start. I think, ultimaetly, it will make things easier on Roy. I want the ball in Roy's hands. But he's not going to have the ball in his hands on every possession. And he shouldn't HAVE to. Especially early in the games, he shouldn't have to look to go into attack mode. He had to often last season if Aldridge's shot wasn't falling. With easier shots for Aldridge and Oden, and even Roy, he won't have to attack early.

As for integrating pieces into the team, good teams adjust to new players, and new players adjust to their teams. The Lakers have adjusted to Bynum being in the starting lineup, as well as adjusting to the addition of Pau Gasol. Should they have utilized Pau the exact same way they used Lamar, because that's whose spot he was taking in the starting lineup? Should teams only look to bring in players that duplicate the exact skills the previous player had, but with improvements?

I'm not saying Miller is on that level, and as I said before, I don't expect us to say ok, we're going to a brand new scheme to fit one guy. I do expect EVERYONE to make slight adjustments, however.

 

[PapaG]

The problem is that you can only get so far with Roy being the focus of the offense. He's not a LeBron James. He can't single-handedly will a team to 60 wins and a Finals appearance. There's only so far he can take us with the offense running through him.

Portland needs a more balanced approach. We need to get 20-22 ppg out of Aldridge, and 12-16 ppg out of Oden. And we need Roy to focus much, much more on the defensive end. We need better offensive productivity out of guys like Webster and even Joel. Those things just don't seem to be happening with Roy as the primary ball handler, but they could with Miller.

Well then, it's a good thing that LMA averaged 18 ppg last year on 15.3 fga/per, isn't it? I am simply floored that people are trashing Roy in favor of a 33 year-old PG on his 5th team.