(Flashback) BREAKING NEWS: Blazers to Sign Andre Miller

Re: BREAKING NEWS: Blazers to Sign Andre Miller

Actually that in between game in that range is one of the easiest shots to get, especially for a pentrating PG. The PG that have the in between game, are quite deadly. Those guys that have the 12 to 15 foot floater down will kill you all night long. Don't get me wrong. We will be trading one strength for another. I am sure there will be times where we wished he was a 3 point shooter. But I am pretty sure that is not nearly as many times as I wished Blake or Sergio could get to and finish at the rim. Andre Miller will bring the rim attacking presence and the ability to get cheap scores through drawing fouls. He will also be competent running a fast break.

 

Re: BREAKING NEWS: Blazers to Sign Andre Miller

We don't need a SF. Batum is more valuable as a starter now. We need a defensive stopper who can hit a 3 at times. Miller is not a good defensive player, and Roy average at best. We need Batum in the starting line up.

 

Re: BREAKING NEWS: Blazers to Sign Andre Miller

Well then Batum better have improved his offensive game if he is going to start this year. I can guarantee you that Martell Webster and Dante Cunningham will come in showing an ability to score. Cunningham might even rival him on defense because of his instincts. Part of the reason the Blazers lost in the playoffs was they didn't have enough offensive weapons to counter Houstons prime defenders. We cannot afford that this year. If you're not putting 10 points a game from the starting SF position, you're digging too big of a hole for you defense to make up for it. If you consider that Greg Oden is mostly about defense and rebounds, we can't really afford 2 guys in the starting lineup that do not score. 1 at the most.

 

Re: BREAKING NEWS: Blazers to Sign Andre Miller

That does bring up a good point. How many 40-60 ft shots did Miller take last year? He is the pG and usually has the ball at the end of the quarter. Out of those 50 three points shots that he took last year, how many were desperation shots? 10-15 over 82 games? maybe his true 3pt FG% is a little better than we think. Some players won't take them because it hurts their stat sheet.

 

Re: BREAKING NEWS: Blazers to Sign Andre Miller

More video:

[video=youtube;H7BfPeWzA_s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7BfPeWzA_s[/video]

Imagine Oden, Aldridge, and Roy/Rudy in place of Dalambert, Speights, and Iguodala.

 

Re: BREAKING NEWS: Blazers to Sign Andre Miller

Think about how hard teams have to cover Blake. His ONLY shot is a three, which was usually wide open. It was stated that Blake had trouble making moves on the coaches for the blazers, let alone active NBA players. Granted he was pass first which is nice.

 

Re: BREAKING NEWS: Blazers to Sign Andre Miller

That's the way I see it as well - you can't just leave miller alone on the perimeter b/c he wont stay there. He can finish around the basket and that is something Blake doesn't do very often. And Blake comes off the Bench to run the 2nd unit. You can also use Blake at the 2 and give B-Roy some spells - let Dre penetrate & run pick/rolls while Blake camps out at the 3 point line. I like the combo of Miller and Blake. Assuming the blazers plan to keep Blake, it seems reasonable that they "felt out" Dre's feelings about splitting time with him. At 33 years old, and to play for a possible contender - Dre may feel differently now about it than he would have 5 years ago.

Odd man out is Bayless of course. This is so eerily reminiscent of J. O'Neal to me. You have a guy you know will be a good NBA baller someday, but just isn't ready and you can't afford to let him play through mistakes if you want to contend next season. Also (like O'Neal) Bayless is really anxious and you worry about how he will handle not playing. After the season ended last year, he said some disturbing things about how "angry" he was at times during the season. I hope they have a plan here. The roster is just stacked with guys who could be good players, but they need time and experience (Bayless, Batum, Webster) That's a good problem to have I suppose, but the flip side is who knows what their trade value is. I would guess a guy like Martell Webster doesn't really excite too many GM's around the league. Bayless? Meh, as a throw in. But we don't want to give these guys away. I guess we'll have to stay tuned. As it stands right now, there is going to be some unhappy campers in that locker room for sure.

I wonder how this offseason is affecting the players moral. They've reportedly stepped on the feelings of Rudy F. B-Roy isn't thrilled about his contract situation. LA? How would you feel if you heard the media suggesting the hard ball being played with B-Roy is to set a precedent so that you don't have to max LA out? Blake now becomes a b/u after being a starter on a 54 win team. Bayless could be a non-factor with the addition of Miller, when before summer league believed next season was going to be his break-out campaign. Outlaw has been rumored in about 100 deals, and the Millsap offer sheet may have bruised his ego. I just don't know how you find time for Rudy, Outlaw, Martell, Batum, and Bayless and that's potentially FIVE unhappy guys. Maybe the league would let us split our teams up into two. We could send our "B" team to the Eastern Conference. They might even finish .500 over there.

 

Re: BREAKING NEWS: Blazers to Sign Andre Miller

Clearly Nate was too kind/confident in Batum or underestimated Houston's defense. Rudy in for Batum was the obvious answer. I doubt Nate will make that same mistake when the Play offs come around. Greg can score if he gets the passes, and Andre is good at finding the post player!

 

Re: BREAKING NEWS: Blazers to Sign Andre Miller

Bump for perspective. Look back at how you felt when we got Miller.

 

Re: BREAKING NEWS: Blazers to Sign Andre Miller

Man, for some reason when I saw this I though Denver waived him or something and we resigned him and I almost freaked out, then I saw the year, way to go bumping this. But yeah, good perspective I suppose.

 

Glad you gave us something to read. The board's been dead because of the draft. Let's count, hmm, only 4 full pages of thread titles in the last 72 hours. Thanks for the public service, because I have nothing to read.