Nate on Miller playing vs LA... questionable if not doubtful

Wow... if nate benches miller and ends his iron man streak... shit will hit the fan. Im just gonna guess Miller plays but damn imagine if its nates call and he benches miller. oh boy. This is according to Joe Freeman. Quick also said on the game that this was the most heated incident in a balzer practice since bonzi through the gatorade bucket with mo cheeks.

Im wondering if this back thing being doubtful is the quiet approach to a suspension for milleR? or is Miller gonna hide behind injuries as a form of pouting?

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2010/01/just_seven_players_practice_fo.html

 

Yea Miller is going to hide behind injuries as a form of pouting....He's only played like 600 straight games.

 

I really hope that Nate doesn't use this as a way to get back at Miller. I mean, there's no way to actually tell really, but it'd be a shame if that was the reason for the streak to end.

 

If Nate pulls that kind of lame ass crap I will officially begin a FIRE NATE MCMILLIAN CAMPAIGN.

There is no call for that kind of petty crap from the coach...who is not blameless or without fault in this incident.

I'm in Millers court on this one. I don't care what was said at the meeting last summer, Nate told everyone that there would be open competition and the best players would start. He never gave Miller a chance to do what Miler has done for 11 seasons at a very high level. That much is clear. Whether it is because of Brandon, or Nate, or both of them it doesn't matter. Andre Miller was never given a chance to be Andre Miller.

I don't blame Miller for being pissed. He has been painted the villian in this by the media, and by his coach. He deserves better.

I don't give a crap about the free throw thing at the end of the Memphis game. That is small potatoes compared to the big picture....more like the puss coming out of the pimple.

Its pretty clear Nate does what Nate does. His unwillingness to try new things holds him and the team back. There is a difference between sticking to your guns and refusing to acknowledge that someone else might have a better idea.

Part of why Andre Miller was brought here was to help the team run. Nate has said over and over again he wants the team to run. It doesn't. Period. And at this point I do not believe him when he says he wants it to run. He simply isn't telling us how it is. Just like he was blowing smoke up our rear ends when he said Taurean Green was going to play important minutes and help us win games.

Unless these guys blew out all the baggage they have been carrying today and patch it up in short order, this relationship is broken. I believe another fire that has been simmering is one inside Rudy Fernandez. And if Jerryd Bayless goes back to the bench when Batum, Fernandez and Outlaw return, there is going to be a problem there as well. Neither of those guys has been given a real shot. Bayless has recently, but thats only because of the injuries. If he doesn't get a chance to play his next contract is going to be a pittance of what he may really be worth. He and his agent both know that. And Rudy passed up big bucks in Europe to come over here. Playing less than twenty minutes a game as a reserve and jacking up threes probably isn't what he had in mind. Returning to a more prominent role and big dollars in Europe certainly has to be something that has crossed his mind. Certainly this hasn't escaped the attention of his agent. Unless the situation changes, I'm betting Fernandez goes back to Spain, and Bayless leaves the team at the end of his rookie contract. And who could blame them if they did?

Nate is on a year to year deal with the Blazers. For all we know he may be out of here at the end of the year. If he wants to make it a career in Portland and that is what the team wants, then they ought to get rid of all the guys who want to run...LA, Rudy, Bayless, and Miller, and give Nate the frigging last word on all personell decisions, because he has certainly proven he isn't going to play anyone other than his favorites...and that he is going to play slowball controlball. Let the fans know too, this is how its going to be....for better or for worse. Just don't tell us one thing and do another.

Its high time Nate be called out for his shortcomings. The media has been on Millers rear ever since he arrived. Nate has been good for this team and the community, but he isn't all that. The stalling tactic at the end of the Memphis game was what he called. And when he made that call the momentum completely shifted away from the Blazers who had run up a nice lead late in the game by playing aggressively. The same tactic was employed in both losses to Atlanta as well as in other games this season. If its his call, he should take the responsibility for it rather than throwing his players under the bus and blaming the loss on poor execution. Which is what he has done ALL YEAR LONG.

 

Miller isn't either...

 

what a fuck in Nate Mac pulls this bullshit.

 

If after this....Nate benchs Andre out of spite he will show everyone his own ego is more important than winning.....proving HE HIMSELF is not championship material.

And I will officially begin a FIRE NATE campaign.

 

Absolutely!

I hope he's not as petty as he makes himself out to be. He deserves a significant portion of the blame for Dre airing out his laundry.

 

Considering Andre Miller has played a ridiculous amount of games in a row and played great on Tuesday, I'm inclined to believe that after a two day rest Miller himself will say he is fine to play and will be cleared.

 

I will be incredibly disappointed if Nate holds Miller out of a game because of personal issues between the two. It really will say alot about Nate and his ego.

Nate is fully aware of the streak and the meaning and importance of the streak. In fact there was a game on the road, Cliipers I think, where Dre played like 5 mins and never reentered. I thought they did that move because Dre was hurting but they wanted toi keep the streak alive.

I'm hoping these two vets of the game (Nate and Miller) go out for a beer. Share some stories, laugh about how they got all heated up over something that really isn't that big of a deal . . . not for two people who have been in the NBA this long. Gunna sound like Kp on this, but maybe they can actually bond over this.

Problem I see is going out and bonding doesn't sound like an Andre thing and Nate's big ego isn't going to allow him to break the ice it takes to crack Miller.

Tomorrow's game should be intersting . . . but Miller better play.

 

McMillan would have to be a complete ass to sit Miller tomorrow. Not only would it end Miller's streak or w/e, this team needs all the players it can get right now.

 

ucatchtrout just wrote the book on Nate. Awesome.

 

Calling Nate an ass based on conjecture about something that he is unlikely to do is kind of messed up...IMHO...

But I do agree it would be lame in the highly unlikely event he does that.

 

All the Nate haters are getting their undies all bunched. Oh man, this is almost as funny as the Roy is selfish crowd earlier in the season.

 

It all depends on how fast Miller recovers from his "Nates Dick in my ass" injury.

 

So..just out of curiosity...

Let's just say, for argument's sake, that Miller severely injured his back at the end of the third quarter the other night. And Miller shows problems in his play because of it. And maybe he's showing some real pain in practice to the point where he's being unproductive. Nate chooses to bench Miller and Miller protests because he's an iron man, yada yada yada, pain is nothing, and he can play.

If you're in Nate's shoes what do you do?

And how is it that with one or two lines from the entire conversation you can make such judgment calls about Nate?

Maybe Nate was an ass, but doesn't the possibility even exist in your mind that Miller is also (or was solely) an ass?

 

That makes a lot of sense. In this thread, that's worthy of a rep.

 

Nate has been known to jerk a player out of the game if they weren't "moving right". You might be on to something there. I think the free throw thing was the trigger. I think really what we have here is a challenge to authority, and perhaps Nate and Brandon don't like it.

 

Remember earlier in the season when Andre rolled both ankles? He played the next game, but walked up and down the court and basically played like ass. He's in the game, but not helping. Maybe Nate just wants to let him sit. Maybe it's Andre's ego being bruised here, not Nate's.

 

Keep in mind I'm not saying that's what happened.

I think Kingspeed had it right *cringe* that 95% of the stuff that gets written is BS.

I'm just saying there are multiple possibilities and jumping to the conclusion that Nate is out for personal revenge seems to not only label Nate as an ass, but labels KP and Paul Allen as an ass in thinking they wouldn't see that.