"He's better than a player who spent four years in college,'' McMillan said Saturday. "He's been in big games his whole life. You can see that out on the floor. For years, he's been the go-to guy on his team. We go to him here, too, but he's also having to play off some of our other guys.''
Said Fernandez, in improving English: "Brandon is a superstar. When he's playing, he makes more space for the shooters.''
McMillan at times this fall has been muted in his praise of Fernandez -- a noticeable shift from August -- in what some Blazers insiders see as a motivational tactic, a way of challenging him and keeping him grounded. But get the Blazers' coach talking about the potential of using Fernandez and Roy together in the backcourt -- something they've done so far only in stretches of six or seven minutes -- and his eyes light up. Against New Orleans the other night, it forced Byron Scott to stick defensive ace James Posey on one of them, with Chris Paul or Peja Stojakovic left to fend off the other.
"That's a lineup I'm still looking at,'' McMillan said. "We have matchups [advantages]. With Brandon playing the point, who do you put your point guard on? Recognizing that and knowing the plays to call, that is those two guys and this team picking up things like that.''
Said Roy: "We're tough for teams to defend. I'm good with the ball, he's good without the ball. You have to ask yourself, Who do you put your best defender on? We're going to develop even more chemistry as the season goes on.''
