The Miller hate in this forum is....

Miller has been fantastic. I think he's one of the most underrated players in the league. One of his best skills is fearlessly taking the ball to the hoop, which we really need on a team of jumpshooters. His pickup by Pritchard looks brilliant, even though he wasn't our first choice.

 

Miller started playing better and started fitting in after he had that huge fight with mcmillian not when blake got moved.

 

I'm pretty sure I've stuck with him since we signed him last summer. I was also a huge proponent of trading for him during last season. I've always liked the guy and I think he's a very good player. I'm glad we have him.

 

Today, Kenny Vance share a story in that, during one of the games awhile back, LMA had the hot hand. Roy was calling for the ball on more than one occasion. Miller simply looked him off, then subsequently fed the ball into LMA....who kept hitting. Vance said that on that day, Miller endeared himself to Aldridge and more than a few others.

Miller is a crafty, knowledgeable vet who knows how to play the game the "right" way. In no way did he create a divide between himself and Roy, but Roy sure learned about "veteranship" that day.

 

I've said it before, you don't lead the league in assists by being a dumb player or selfish. Even though he only did it once, with Cleveland of all teams, the guy has proven he can be one of the best distributors in basketball. I think he could lead the league again, if given the right freedoms and allowed to play a full season with the team. Look at his assists over the last few games. Pretty damn impressive.

 

I completely stand by this statement:

I thought it a somewhat foregone conclusion that there was going to be very little attempt change the style of play to adapt and account for Miller, and it was absolutely true that they weren't playing well off of each other. I'm glad things changed, but it still irks me that Nate made no effort to give the better player the starting job from the jump and that no time was spent in preseason getting those two on the same page.

 

This was, by far, the most disappointing thing about the preseason.

I am glad they finally figured it out but I wish it wouldn't have taken nearly as long to do so.

 

He was not playing great, but your post only proves my point.

Some people can only see what it right in front of them, not what is down the road.

Right in front of us was Miller playing below average. The people who have watched Millers career in the NBA knew his skill set, know he typically started out slow, and probably assumed that the team would adjust to his strengths (and vise versa).

But it certainly isn't uncommon for people to have drastic, knee-jerk reactions around here.

And to answer your question: No, my memory isn't short, and apparently my vision is better than others.

 

I feel the same.
Nate's inflexibility is one of the things that infuriates me about his coaching.
To take a guy like Miller, leave him dangling not knowing his role, keeping him on the bench and then jerking him around with sub patterns is just plain stupid. Way to integrate a talent Nate.
It's no wonder Miller started out slowly.

Now, in the second half of the season, McMillan has given the PG spot to Miller and he has started to show what he really can do.

Exactly what most people where calling for since summer camp.

McMillan is just simply not that good.

 

True. I may be being a little harsh. I'm just not a fan of 'Nate Ball'.
He is a good mentor, I'll give him that.

However it's those bad qualities you mentioned that make us have to watch those excrutiatingly boneheaded decisions during games.

 

First, I only see one of the quotes as being remotely hateful.

Second, I am pleased that Miller and the team seemed to have learned to complement each other, especially against certain teams. He would certainly benefit the team more if he could shoot threes even at an average pace. And he is not what I consider an ideal PG for the Blazers, someone who is an excellent defender, especially against the smaller quicker guys. But he does seem to be more valuable to the team now than Steve Blake was; so I am now a Miller fan.

 

ppl still hate Miller?!??!?? I am not surprised. There are a lot of clueless fans here.