Guaranteed - Miller Will Ultimately Become The Sole Starting Point Guard

[ABM]

Exhibit A:

Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan did more than insert Andre Miller into the starting lineup against the San Antonio Spurs -- he handed over the keys to his offense and took away Miller's learner's permit.

For the first time in his coaching career, McMillan allowed his point guard to call most of the plays as the Blazers defeated the Spurs 96-84 at the Rose Garden on Friday. After McMillan yelled out the first set of the game, Miller essentially took over from there.

Exhibit B:

McMillan also hinted that he has already made a decision about which player will be the team's official starting point guard if the need arises.

Again, it's just a matter of time................

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Nate shouldn't have handed over the keys to the offense.

He should have handed over 10 gallons of jet fuel and a jump start.

 

[magnifier661]

The funny thing about Nate is how long it takes him to make a decision. It took almost an entire season to hand over the keys at center for Pryzbilla, even when Pryzbilla was clearly the best defensive option at center a couple years back.

 

[LOTBfan]

Bayless!


Did any of you guys hear the bayless fan in 310 on sunday?

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Bayless!


Did any of you guys hear the bayless fan in 310 on sunday?

Waiting for the punchline...

(I love a good Bayless joke)

 

[hasoos]

Bayless!


Did any of you guys hear the bayless fan in 310 on sunday?

No. Feel free to share if you think it is worth it.

 

[THE HCP]

I think this is Nate's way of fazing out Blake to the second unit. I have no problem with it! Great move.

 

[magnifier661]

I think this is Nate's way of fazing out Blake to the second unit. I have no problem with it! Great move.

I couldn't agree more. I think tightening up the rotation will only make us a better "play-off" team, which is the true goal. I really like giving the starters somewhere around 30-35 minutes a game, and have the rest of the role players sharing the rest. I didn't like the Team A and Team B during 1998-99 season, and I don't like it now. The only two players that should get close to the same "Burn" is Oden and Pryzbilla. Other than that, the rest can wait until we blow them out.

 

[ABM]

I think this is Nate's way of fazing out Blake to the second unit. I have no problem with it! Great move.

Yep, what ABM said..

Don't forget, this is just an interim move.............ultimately aimed at replacing Blake with Miller in the starting lineup. Psychologically speaking, that is.

 

[alex42083]

Bayless!


Did any of you guys hear the bayless fan in 310 on sunday?

I heard him. Was that you? The guy was yelling 'Let's go Bayless!' or something like that, it didn't matter if he was on the court or not.

 

[MIXUM]

if you are an nba coach and you cant decide between miller or blake yet wanna advance deep into the playoffs.... you should be coaching the kings and not the blazers.

like i said yesterday... DID IT REALLY TAKE NATE 5 GAMES TO FIGURE OUT MILLER SHOULD START? REALLY NATE... REALLY?

 

[maxiep]

I think this is Nate's way of fazing out Blake to the second unit. I have no problem with it! Great move.

Agreed. In fact, expect Blake to end up the season behind Bayless.

 

[andalusian]

Agreed. In fact, expect Blake to end up the season behind Bayless.

Would love to see it - but I still think we are a year away from JB being a regular rotation guy. He is great at attacking the rim - and he is pretty good in the open floor - but it still looks like Rudy was the decision maker there in the half-court sets.

Not enough data to really reach conclusions, imho - but that's the vibe I got so far.

 

[hasoos]

Agreed. In fact, expect Blake to end up the season behind Bayless.

 

[MIXUM]

the problem with benching bake is hes such a solid 3 point shooter.... but thats really it. everything else about his game is very replacable!

 

[ABM]

if you are an nba coach and you cant decide between miller or blake yet wanna advance deep into the playoffs.... you should be coaching the kings and not the blazers.

like i said yesterday... DID IT REALLY TAKE NATE 5 GAMES TO FIGURE OUT MILLER SHOULD START? REALLY NATE... REALLY?

Obviously, you know nothing about psychological creativity.

 

[LittleAlex]

The decision has indeed been made.

It will be Blake.

This in no way is who I think should be the starter. I just see no reason to believe that Blake will not start now and in the future.

If KP wants a good point guard to start for this team he is going to have to trade Blake away.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

Says the poster who predicted an 18-0 start.

I think you just jinxed Miller.

 

[ABM]

Says the poster who predicted an 18-0 start.

Again, there's a big difference between "will" and "conceivably possible".

 

[MARIS61]

This says nothing at all about Miller's talent, just a sad commentary on Nate's OCD coaching weakness.

All of our PG's, past and present, have had their talents sabotaged and diminished by Nate's control fetish, his denial that he's no longer the PG running the offense and directing the defense on court, his refusal to allow them to be better than he ever was.

Blake must be absolutely seething at those comments right now. Sergio is simply happy he's off the leash. Rudy is looking at other team's playing styles and coaches.

 

[andalusian]

Sergio is simply happy he's off the leash. Rudy is looking at other team's playing styles and coaches.

Sergio is happy? He is playing half the minutes per game at Sac. as he did in Portland... and this ignores the 2 DNP-CD games he did not play at all!

In 7 games so far, Sergio has played 36 minutes.

I doubt very much he is happy right now.

Heck, if he is happy playing 5 minutes per game - we should have kept him just so Rudy will have someone to eat dinner with. The problem was that he was not happy getting 15 minutes per game here.

 

[southnc]

I agree that Miller will be the sole PG. Whether that is best for the team or not, time will tell. But its beginning to feel like Miller's team - not Roy's.

I also think Blake and Outlaw will be traded at some point. There are just too many people fighting for minutes and a lot of players are unhappy.

I'm sure Miller is now happy, but now you have Rudy, Webs, and Bayless looking for minutes. The team needs to shed players. Just think how bad it will get when Batum returns!

As for Roy....

 

[Idog1976]

I agree that Miller will be the sole PG. Whether that is best for the team or not, time will tell. But its beginning to feel like Miller's team - not Roy's.

I also think Blake and Outlaw will be traded at some point. There are just too many people fighting for minutes and a lot of players are unhappy.

I'm sure Miller is now happy, but now you have Rudy, Webs, and Bayless looking for minutes. The team needs to shed players. Just think how bad it will get when Batum returns!

As for Roy....

This leads me to the question who could we get for Rudy or Bayless + Blake and Outlaw. I don't see both Rudy and Bayless as long term pieces. It's one or the other and I feel like Bayless' versatility, athleticism and handles as a 1/2, trumps Rudy's amazing BBIQ, shooting and passing.

I bet we could get Hayes and/or Battier for those three easy and maybe a draft pick or two as well.