That's wrong though. He got 8 shots in the first half. 2 shots in the second. I'd say he played with Miller for equal minutes both halfs.
Can somebody find a Miller to Oden assist in this game summary? http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=291014022
Also, the play-by-play on nba.com has zero Oden shots assisted directly by Miller. The guys who got Oden off: Webster - 3ast LMA and Roy - 2ast each Outlaw - 1ast Neither point guard passed the ball to Oden directly. However, Miller tends to set up to Webster (3 of Miller's assists were to Webster), and Webster had 3 assists to Oden while Miller was in... not causality, but there's probably correlation there.
Much less effective? I haven't seen a lot of offensive problems -- Brandon's struggles aside (which frankly could have as much to do with the new offensive sets as taking the whole summer off to rest) -- the real issues still seem to be with defensive execution and on-ball defense. From the sounds of things Nash, Barbosa and Richardson attacked the hell out of our perimeter and the entire Suns roster was draining threes because guys aren't getting out on shooters. The tale of the preseason for me so far has been turnover problems, leaky transition and pick and roll defense and poor foul shooting by the Blazers, the first and the last are correctable and I'm not too worried about, the latter has been an issue for awhile and is somewhat more concerning, but one would hope that improves as these new lineups get used to playing with one another. At this point I'm halfway expecting a slow start for the season, and hopefully by November things start gelling on the defensive end of the court and Roy picks up his game and also can blend his talents with the rest of his teammates (and vice versa).
I posted it earlier, but can somebody find me a Miller-to-Oden assist in tonight's game? That said, Roy needs to feel comfortable. A young team won 54-games last season, and they added a veteran who has bounced around the league. I give my Blazer vets the benefit of the doubt over an NBA journeyman like Miller. I do hope he delivers, but at this point, wow, I can't say I'm happy about what I've seen or heard.
A few things stood out to me while watching the game..... Brandon passed the rock a lot of times where he would have put up a shot last year. Maybe he's trying to spread the wealth. We looked pretty bad at defending the pick n roll! I know it was Nash runnin the PG spot but our rotations and weak side help was non existent! Greg looked great! Very active on both ends of the court! Andre looked totally under control at all times and looked like he could take over whenever he wanted to. Travis looked kinda lost. I looked like a fucking pimp in my old school Blazer hat!
I haven't read ahe entire thread because I quickly realized it was dominated by two posters, one of which argues frequently with a lot of people and is never wrong. However, it appears the issues being discussed tonight have to deal with Oden, Roy, Miller, and Outlaw. Since I was at the game, I'll provide my thoughts with what I saw, tonight. Oden: He had a nice game. Finished around the rim, stayed out of foul trouble, and cleaned up the glass. Didn't show near as many offensive moves (if any) as he did against Sacramento. The team didn't go to him at all in the 4th quarter, at least that I can think of. Roy: Was so-so tonight, for Roy. He doesn't appear to be in rhythm on either end. I noticed two specific instances on defense where he was late rotating on the weakside during pick and roll defense, giving up a wide open dunk. I can only assume it was Roy's fault based on the way they play pick and roll defense when he is on the strong side or off the court all together. Outlaw: Typical Outlaw. Made some tough shots that some would consider bad shot selection and others would say show how talented he is. He also made some mental errors dribbling, passing, and on defense. If you didn't like Outlaw going into the game, you wouldn't like him anymore leaving the MC tonight. Miller: Clearly is becoming a lightening-rod around here. He was no better (or worse) than Blake when it came to slowing down Nash; both failed miserably. I'm not sure how many assists he had, but I'm certain he setup a lot of baskets. Miller seemed to have a few "hockey assists" where he passed to someone who quickly passed to Greg or LMA for an easy bucket. Those things don't show up on the box score, but they have major value in my book. Miller is very crafty and knows how to score.
im pretty sure at one point in time during the second half a ref changed his mine which way the ball was gonna go.... never heard so many boos since the rudy incident
Also...... Martell took it to the rack and tried to throw it down on Amare'! He got hammered, crashed to the floor and hopped right back up. No joke, Webster's cock was on Stat's shoulder! He was that high! I have never seen him get up like that before. He is back! Greg gave Channing a titty twister in the first half and they both couldn't stop laughing!
Hey now, I'm just asking for a few examples on how Miller improved the perimeter defense and fed Oden the ball. I'll admit that the criticisms of Roy set me off a bit.
Great game, but am happy we play at the RG. Was interviewed by Bob Akamian before the game and was not prepared. Not for sure what they were filming for. Not worried about the outcome. PHX is not going to shoot that well from 3 pt range every night and we had some lineups that probably never get used during the regular season. Blake and Miller together as well as Batum, Outlaw, and Webster. Brandon was also very quiet.
That reminds me: I keep saying it over and over, and tonight is even more confirmation. Those of you who think these replacement refs are better for the NBA are sorely mistaken. The officiating in the two games I've seen has been horrible and way more inconsistent than before. The officials appear to be easily influenced by players and coaches bitching about non-calls on previous plays and making it up to them on the other end. In the two games I've seen 3 missed resets of the shot clock. How 3 officials and miss the ball hitting the rim is beyond me. We also got a phantom goal-tending call in our favor late the game. The ref under the hoop called the foul, must've looked up late, and assumed there was a goal-tend. For one, that is not is call; the ref under the basket should never be looking if a ball goes is or is goal-tended, that's what the other two refs are responsible to do. I really hope we get the regular refs back before the season starts.
