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

Well said.

I had a bit of revelation when I was driving home and listening to Quick mostly tear Andre down, and then Brian Smith mostly take Nate and management to task on Canzano's show.

I think Nate is the coaching equivalent of a line cook; a highly efficient, very very good line cook -- the Van Gogh of greasy spoons if you will -- but he is not a 'chef.' He can make a mean Denver omlette if you give him some eggs, some peppers, some ham and some cheese, but he couldn't make a souffle if his life depended on it.

Andre Miller will likely break his streak of games here in Portland, his reputation has likely been tarnished here in Portland, and he will likely be traded within a month. For his sake I hope he goes somewhere that he's wanted and somewhere he'll be allowed to flourish, and most of all appreciated.

I didn't use to believe that Nate hindered the point guards that have cycled through here over the past five years, I always figured they were just inferior (and no doubt some of them were), but now I'm not so sure he can be held blameless anymore. A damn shame.

 

Washington needs a PG and Jamison needs a change of scenery...

 

So now Telfair and Jarret Jack and the rest were just misunderstood and not used properly?

Which ones in particular have gone on to spectacular NBA careers?

Oh, and BTW, I think Miller wasn't as highly valued as a few of you would like to think, considering only two teams bid on his services.

 

Just to toss some grist for the mill, Miller's probably also having trouble playing into shape like he normally does because his minutes are down. So not only is he not where he normally is at this point in the season, he's not at his best month of the season yet anyway.

Miller's value may currently be a bit depressed.

 

One of the things Nate himself said at the end of last season was he wanted to add veteran leadership and experience.

KP goes out and gets both in Andre Miller.

Only trouble is, Nate has refused to make use of that veteran leadership and experience from the git go. He has insisted on maintaining control for the sake of maintaining control.

 

+1.

 

Does anyone find it a bit ironic that, both, KP and Nate were Point Guards?

 

Telfair sucked, and Jack was mediocre, but Jack has gone on and done well enough that the Raptors are now considering trading Calderon and keeping him as their starting point. Sergio still doesn't play a lick of defense, but has shown that when allowed to play more uptempo can be very effective on the offen sive end of the court.

As for Miller, I watched him play plenty of times over the years and his game is legit ... his desirability and lack of suitors had more to do with teams without cap space, and his age.

I'm just saying that Nate's misuse has caused me to rethink his handling of his point guards in the past, not to say that I think he's categorically mishandled them.

 

FWIW......


http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=117580664532763900

 

Spot on!

 

Nate wouldn't play games like that. He wants to win and would put the best players out there to accomplish this. I know things aren't really going our way right now, but there is no need to always have a scapegoat. Just sick back and enjoy.

 

Nate is the boss. If Miller told Nate to "F himself" in front of the rest of the team then there should be some reprocussions.

 

Does anyone remember the details of Nate and Gary Payton's "dispute" that resulted in GP sitting for several games soon after Nate became coach of the Sonics? I remember reading reports of their problems way back when.

 

For the same reasons. Nate was an idiot then, Payton knew it and called him on it, and Nate's been an idiot now and Miller's calling him on it. Management needs to be called on their sh** by the veterans when it's messing with the whole team.

 

What a small world. After Blazer draftee Wally Walker fired George Karl and his gaudy .700+ record, Walker replaced him with his golfing friend Paul Westphal. Payton wanted someone new and so his mentor teammate McMillan replace Westphal after 2 years. After Westphal's Sergioan loose coaching, Payton had a hard time playing in the Natian style. With future Blazer Shawn Kemp gone, Payton tyrranized over his younger teammates, so Walker traded him for Ray Allen.

Several years before that, Nate once took me on. I pissed him off, he started to argue and verbally dress me down, but I did a verbal 360, humored him, and lightened him up. He's a very firm man. I've told it on the ESPN board maybe 4 times over the years. Ask Maris, he's sick of reading the dumb little story.

 

Miller to Charlotte for either Felton or Augustine?

 

JJ plays at the same PER (actually lower), and at the same winscore/minute he did in Portland now. JJ did not change - it is just Toronto's perception of Calderon that changed. They have seen that even if a PG does not create as well offensively as he does - but plays some defense and is a leader on the court and off it - they will be better. JJ was berated by many on this forum and Nate was too for playing him - but now, all of a sudden, Toronto playing him and getting about the same (maybe a little less) production out of him is a mark on Nate? Please - JJ's best individual season as a player was under Nate. Calderon is low-turnover version of Sergio - great offensively, not good defensively.

Duh. So now Nate was mistaken to not change his system for Sergio's benefit? Sergio is who he is, but even in Sacramento - he is playing less minutes per game than he did here, and he is thriving because he is the 3rg PG in the depth chart and if he is in - he is allowed to run the show. No disrespect to Sergio - but his TOV% is still atrocious, and he gets less minutes in Sacramento than he did here. His entire "improvement" comes from one thing - his 3 point shot is falling this year at a respectable clip and he so far seems to be doing much better shooting from close range. Is it because he fixed his shot? Is it because he is the 3rd PG on the depth chart and plays against garbage defenders? Who knows - but if he was able to shoot at the same clip in Portland, his PER and "breakthrough" would have been exactly the same. I would wait a little longer to see if his shot continues to fall before I call his rebirth a success - and as we have seen, that is the only thing he does better in Sacramento than he did here. He still loses the ball at an alarming rate...

Legit at what? At putting great numbers but never being on a team that won 50 games or more? Being at 50% win percent over the last 3 years? Of never getting out of the first round in 7 playoffs appearances? Of having his teams win 1.2 games on average per playoff appearance?

Bah. Steve Blake had his best year under Nate, so did Jarret Jack and so did Sebastian Telfair. Give me a break. Miller is producing the same win% he did in Portland under Nate, as he did in Philly. The problem is not Nate and his handling of Miller - it's your perception of Miller. The Zach Randolph of point-guards.

 

Miller hurt his back when he smashed into a camera guy during the Clippers game. A part of why he didnt play during the 4th qtr of the Memphis game and why he didnt practice yesterday (before the blow out with Nate) was because his back was bothering him.

 

Andalusian: I just said I think it's possible some players have gone on (in some cases) and come closer to reaching their potential (even if that is somewhat limited) than they did while under Nate -- as in going from atrocious to mediocre, or mediocre to pretty good (as in the case of Jack for example)

I've never asserted that Miller is an all-NBA or all-star caliber player, but he's long been a very effective creator and finisher throughout his career, but in this particular system that Nate runs his shooting percentages have tanked, his assist numbers are down, he's a starter in name only, and it's looking more and more like he hasn't exactly been given a fair shake here.

You really seem to be confused here. I'm not saying that any of those guys were the answer or should have started or that I'd even want them back, I'm just saying I'm not so sure Nate's offense allows point guards who cycle through here to flourish ... and Steve Blake having a "career year" as a spot up shooter really isn't the same as him having a career year as a point guard.

 

Screw Maris. I've never heard your dumb little story. Spill it, I'm bored.