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Good find dad! Those two are awesome.
http://columbian.com/article/2009101...1/BLAZERBANTER
They could have already split apart. Fractured. Taken two separate roads, neither of which point in the same direction.
But instead of falling away from each other, Portland Trail Blazers point guards Steve Blake and Andre Miller have become closer.
Both express mutual admiration, three weeks into the team's 2009-10 training camp. Both praise each other's distinctive traits, while offering reminders that whatever holes one has, the other will fill.
Blake and Miller are more alike than they are dissimilar; more comparable and complimentary than they are clashing.
Most importantly, Blake has Miller's back.
"I enjoy the differences that we have. He has a great understanding for the game," Blake said Wednesday. "You can always see that he's thinking, engaged in the game. He is a great finisher around the basket. He is a very good passer — you always see him looking for the open teammate. And so I think he brings a lot positive qualities to our team. I think he's going to help us a ton."
And Miller has Blake's.
"I support him in whatever he does. I enjoy passing to him. I enjoy playing off of him," Miller said minutes later the same day. "He's a shooter, he's a tough guy. And a lot of people don't see that. They criticize (him) for his defense or whatever — we all get criticized about something, you know. So, I see a compe ive person that knows how to play basketball."
A week ago, Miller's statement that he would not have joined the Blazers this summer if he knew he was not going to be the team's starting point guard shook up the Portland fishbowl.
Now, the words — a perfectly fine mixture of pride, confidence and respect — feel like yesterday's news.
Moreover, the professionalism with which Blake and Portland coach Nate McMillan have handled the situation — if there ever really was one — speaks volumes about a Blazers team that will have to work through much more difficult scenarios this season if it hopes to reach the next level.
McMillan used Miller's statement about starting as a teaching opportunity. Stepping on top of the platform Miller provided, McMillan preached last Sunday at the team's practice facility, using all-inclusive words such as "team" and "us." And then Portland's coach wrapped everything up in one final word: Blazers.
"We're going to play the right way. It ain't about you; it's about us," McMillan said. "And we can be successful when we play together. And that's what it's about."
Meanwhile, Blake did what he always does: He put his head down, drove forward and kept playing. He never cracked. He never gave into the temptation of using the media as a mouthpiece. He never even showed he cared.
Blake said he learned long ago that winning takes care of everything. It answers questions, silences critics, and keeps you on the court.
Blake's college coach, Maryland's Gary Williams, drove the point home.
"He was a big believer in telling you: Just play basketball," Blake said. "And if you do your job and you win, things will work out; things will take care of themselves."
On Wednesday, Blake and Miller nearly matched each other's words as they compared professional basketball to work. A hard, demanding job, but one they were fortunate to have; one that beats just about any 9-to-5 gig around.
And each sounded so similar in their admiration for and appreciation of each other, it was hard to believe some had spent the months leading up to Portland's 2009-10 season trying to drive them apart.
The Blazers have a few significant issues to work out right now, namely defense and offensive cohesion.
What they don't have is a point guard problem.
"All I know is I've enjoyed being a teammate of (Miller's) so far," Blake said. "I think he's a great player. We've gotten along great and I enjoy being around him, and that's all that matters to me."
Good find dad! Those two are awesome.
I kicked Oden's ass in 'Nam.
which last name will they use?
Issue?
Andre Miller Defends His Conditioning
For starters, ex-Ute star Miller wants to be one
By Loren Jorgensen
Deseret News
Andre Miller, the former University of Utah star point guard and the Portland Trail Blazers' top free agent acquisition during the offseason, was sitting on the bench in sweats when Thursday night's game against the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena tipped off.
Miller ended up having a nice night, scoring 13 points in 22 minutes in a reserve role during the Blazers' 99-96 exhibition loss to the Jazz.
But Miller is on record saying he would rather have been in the starting lineup — and he caused a stir last week in Portland for being so blunt.
Instead, he's in a battle with in bent Steve Blake for the role as Portland's No. 1 point guard.
"If I was told right out when I had my meetings (with the Blazers) that I would be a backup, then I wouldn't have come here," Miller told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports last week.
That sentiment hasn't helped Miller's image in Portland, where he had already gotten off on the wrong foot with some after signing a three-year, $21 million contract during the summer. It was reported that on the first day of training camp, Miller was the only player with a guaranteed contract to fail a conditioning test. Plus, he has been criticized by fans, who see him as being aloof.
On Thursday night, Miller called the reports of his conditioning issues "overblown."
"I've never had a conditioning problem since I've been in this league," he said.
Miller's play on the court so far for the Blazers seems to back him up. One could argue that he's been Portland's top player during the preseason. The 10-year veteran — who has started two of Portland's five exhibition games — entered the outing against the Jazz averaging a team-best 15.5 points and 4.3 assists per game. In addition to his 13 points on Thursday, he also grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists in 22 minutes. He's the only Blazer who has scored in double figures in all five preseason games.
Blake, meanwhile, had his best game of the exhibition season on Thursday, making 5-of-9 3-pointers and finishing with a game-high 19 points in 22 minutes. Jerryd Bayless, Portland's third point guard, also played well against the Jazz. He scored 13 points with seven assists in 30 minutes.
Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan hasn't decided which point guard will start when the regular season begins, but he is a fan of Miller's game and likes what he's seen so far.
"He trying to adjust," McMillan said of Miller. "There has been a change of address for him, a whole new system and coaching staff and teammates, and it's going to take some time for him to really get comfortable. But he's working to get himself into shape and to understand what we try to do. We think he's going to help us this year."
Miller has been amazingly consistent and durable during his NBA career. He has played in a current league-high 530 consecutive games and he's coming off a season where he averaged 16.3 points, 6.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds for the Philadelphia 76ers. He has been a starter throughout his career, so it's easy to understand why he would want to continue in that role with the young, talented Blazers.
Miller said Thursday that he is a "team player" and will do whatever is asked of him this season. He also said he's happy to simply have a job in the NBA — and that he likes being a Blazer.
"It will take some time getting use to the guys, that's the main thing," Miller said. "I like the at ude of the team and I like the work habits."
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