tlongII
09-24-2009, 09:42 AM
http://media.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/photo/nate-mcmillan-77330c915fec3c56_small.jpg
There was bold talk about winning a Northwest Division championship. There was brash discussion about advancing deep in the playoffs, perhaps even winning the Western Conference championship.
But underneath all the gleeful rhetoric Wednesday at the Rose Garden, where Trail Blazers' coaches and management assembled for the first of two media days, was a simmering truth about a franchise that seems poised for its most successful season in years.
From top to bottom, the Blazers are as imposing and potentially
powerful as they have been in years at the start of training camp. Yet,
in many ways, the team is alarmingly unsettled.
"We want to be one of those big boys that you know is going to bring
it," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "But the jury's still out on us.
On paper it looks good. But I remember the Lakers years ago, when they
had (Karl) Malone and (Gary) Payton and Kobe (Bryant). It looked great
on paper, but"...
It didn't equate to a championship.
No question, the Blazers' roster is loaded with talent -- the most
since McMillan arrived in Portland and perhaps the most he's overseen
in his coaching career. But as the exhibition season creeps closer,
McMillan and his coaching staff face a slew of formidable questions
involving everything from player rotations to distributing minutes to,
above all else, the starting lineup.
Who starts at point guard? The incumbent, Steve Blake, who has helped
steer this team from an also-ran into a Western Conference power? Or
the glitzy free agent, Andre Miller, who was signed to take the Blazers
to the next level?
Who starts at small forward? Last season's rookie surprise, Nicolas
Batum, who is fresh off a breakout summer performance in the European
Championships? Or one-time starter Martell Webster, who drew sparkling
reviews this time last year before a foot injury forced him to miss
virtually all of last season?
And, of course, there is a 7-foot-sized question at center. Does
McMillan start former No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden, who team insiders
insist is entering camp as healthy -- physically and mentally -- as
ever? Or does McMillan go with stalwart center Joel Przybilla, last
season's unsung hero?
McMillan has been a master at balancing playing time issues during his
career, particularly over the past two seasons. But that seemingly will
be tested more than ever this season, even if he pooh-poohed the issue
Wednesday.
"That's not a big challenge," he said. "As I said the first day that I
came here: The players will decide who plays by what they do on the
floor. We do have a lot of talent and I think it's great to have depth
as we do ... but whatever they do in practice and do out on the floor
will determine how much they play and how we use them."
McMillan will open training camp on Tuesday with the starting lineup he
featured virtually all of last season: Blake at point guard; Brandon
Roy at shooting guard; Batum at small forward; LaMarcus Aldridge at
power forward; and Przybilla at center.
From there?
"We'll see," McMillan said.
Eleven players on the Blazers' roster have started NBA games. McMillan
said he intends to mix and match different lineups and rotations
throughout the exhibition season, starting different lineups in
different preseason games. He'll let the competition shake out from
there.
Whatever ultimately happens, McMillan plans to start the season by featuring a 10-player rotation.
"Will we stay with 10? Who knows?" he said. "We'll see as we get into
camp and get into the season, but we have a roster of players that I
would feel comfortable (using) if I had to go to any of them."
One thing McMillan seemed less comfortable about Wednesday was the
extensive minutes his two-time All-Star has logged over the past two
seasons. Roy played an average of 37.2 minutes last season and 37.7
minutes two seasons ago, and McMillan hopes to lean on him less this
season.
Plenty of players are eager to pick up the slack. Rudy Fernandez seems
poised for a more prominent role. Travis Outlaw, entering a contract
year, has perhaps never been more motivated. The list goes on and on.
And this is just how general manager Kevin Pritchard likes it.
"We want this really competitive team," Pritchard
said. "Every position, we want competition. And at the end of the day,
put all of that aside and say we're all together. And if we're all
together with a common goal then I think we can do some damage in this
league. And we're going to do that. We're not afraid to say that. We're
going to compete every night."
McMillan said he is entering "Phase II" of his tenure in Portland. The
Blazers have gone through the painful rebuilding, they've endured a
youth movement and they've come full circle and established themselves
as a Western Conference power. The organization is ready to take the
next step.
The goals are loftier for the Blazers and so are the challenges for McMillan.
"There is a limitation in minutes, no doubt about that," Pritchard
said. "But what I will say is, Nate is as good as they are (at managing
that). And ... if you get everybody on the same page, and I know that's
a cliché and I don't like it, but if you can get everybody collectively
together and not worry about minutes and not worry about anything else
except the common goal, that's what all the championship teams do.
Right?"
Note: Pritchard on Wednesday confirmed that former Utah Jazz center
Jarron Collins has accepted a training camp invitation from the Blazers
and will compete for the 15th and final spot on the roster. He plans to
finalize his list of invitees in the next day or two. The Blazers open
camp Monday with media day and a team dinner.
There was bold talk about winning a Northwest Division championship. There was brash discussion about advancing deep in the playoffs, perhaps even winning the Western Conference championship.
But underneath all the gleeful rhetoric Wednesday at the Rose Garden, where Trail Blazers' coaches and management assembled for the first of two media days, was a simmering truth about a franchise that seems poised for its most successful season in years.
From top to bottom, the Blazers are as imposing and potentially
powerful as they have been in years at the start of training camp. Yet,
in many ways, the team is alarmingly unsettled.
"We want to be one of those big boys that you know is going to bring
it," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "But the jury's still out on us.
On paper it looks good. But I remember the Lakers years ago, when they
had (Karl) Malone and (Gary) Payton and Kobe (Bryant). It looked great
on paper, but"...
It didn't equate to a championship.
No question, the Blazers' roster is loaded with talent -- the most
since McMillan arrived in Portland and perhaps the most he's overseen
in his coaching career. But as the exhibition season creeps closer,
McMillan and his coaching staff face a slew of formidable questions
involving everything from player rotations to distributing minutes to,
above all else, the starting lineup.
Who starts at point guard? The incumbent, Steve Blake, who has helped
steer this team from an also-ran into a Western Conference power? Or
the glitzy free agent, Andre Miller, who was signed to take the Blazers
to the next level?
Who starts at small forward? Last season's rookie surprise, Nicolas
Batum, who is fresh off a breakout summer performance in the European
Championships? Or one-time starter Martell Webster, who drew sparkling
reviews this time last year before a foot injury forced him to miss
virtually all of last season?
And, of course, there is a 7-foot-sized question at center. Does
McMillan start former No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden, who team insiders
insist is entering camp as healthy -- physically and mentally -- as
ever? Or does McMillan go with stalwart center Joel Przybilla, last
season's unsung hero?
McMillan has been a master at balancing playing time issues during his
career, particularly over the past two seasons. But that seemingly will
be tested more than ever this season, even if he pooh-poohed the issue
Wednesday.
"That's not a big challenge," he said. "As I said the first day that I
came here: The players will decide who plays by what they do on the
floor. We do have a lot of talent and I think it's great to have depth
as we do ... but whatever they do in practice and do out on the floor
will determine how much they play and how we use them."
McMillan will open training camp on Tuesday with the starting lineup he
featured virtually all of last season: Blake at point guard; Brandon
Roy at shooting guard; Batum at small forward; LaMarcus Aldridge at
power forward; and Przybilla at center.
From there?
"We'll see," McMillan said.
Eleven players on the Blazers' roster have started NBA games. McMillan
said he intends to mix and match different lineups and rotations
throughout the exhibition season, starting different lineups in
different preseason games. He'll let the competition shake out from
there.
Whatever ultimately happens, McMillan plans to start the season by featuring a 10-player rotation.
"Will we stay with 10? Who knows?" he said. "We'll see as we get into
camp and get into the season, but we have a roster of players that I
would feel comfortable (using) if I had to go to any of them."
One thing McMillan seemed less comfortable about Wednesday was the
extensive minutes his two-time All-Star has logged over the past two
seasons. Roy played an average of 37.2 minutes last season and 37.7
minutes two seasons ago, and McMillan hopes to lean on him less this
season.
Plenty of players are eager to pick up the slack. Rudy Fernandez seems
poised for a more prominent role. Travis Outlaw, entering a contract
year, has perhaps never been more motivated. The list goes on and on.
And this is just how general manager Kevin Pritchard likes it.
"We want this really competitive team," Pritchard
said. "Every position, we want competition. And at the end of the day,
put all of that aside and say we're all together. And if we're all
together with a common goal then I think we can do some damage in this
league. And we're going to do that. We're not afraid to say that. We're
going to compete every night."
McMillan said he is entering "Phase II" of his tenure in Portland. The
Blazers have gone through the painful rebuilding, they've endured a
youth movement and they've come full circle and established themselves
as a Western Conference power. The organization is ready to take the
next step.
The goals are loftier for the Blazers and so are the challenges for McMillan.
"There is a limitation in minutes, no doubt about that," Pritchard
said. "But what I will say is, Nate is as good as they are (at managing
that). And ... if you get everybody on the same page, and I know that's
a cliché and I don't like it, but if you can get everybody collectively
together and not worry about minutes and not worry about anything else
except the common goal, that's what all the championship teams do.
Right?"
Note: Pritchard on Wednesday confirmed that former Utah Jazz center
Jarron Collins has accepted a training camp invitation from the Blazers
and will compete for the 15th and final spot on the roster. He plans to
finalize his list of invitees in the next day or two. The Blazers open
camp Monday with media day and a team dinner.