In his latest Quick chat, he said that people need to prepare for Miller coming off the bench. He said Miller is looking great, but he thinks that Miller fits in better with the second unit. He also said that Oden and Miller are looking good together. With that said, what happens when Oden goes to the starting unit? The whole point, in my mind, for bringing in Miller was for Oden. At least primarily for Oden. Thoughts?
Doubt it. Llike helll is your notable free agent acquisition and your prized #1 draft pick that is starting to come into his own gonna come off the bench.
Miller makes more sense in the second unit but he'll end up starting if he doesn't by the opener. The only reason he wouldn't start would be lack of outside shooting in the starting lineup but IMO Martell will be starting @ SF so it won't be a big deal.
Miller=Ginobli? I dunno, I guess it's possible Miller starts off as the backup, but my guess as he and Brandon (hopefully) develop chemistry and Oden plays more and more minutes it will be impossible not to have him on the court.
I think the reason why Nate is running Miller with Oden and Webster on the second team is to see how they play together. If Webster and Oden are in the starting unit, why wouldn't Miller be there as well? If Oden is healthy and in shape, he needs to start. Webster on the other hand, I'm not so sure. I wouldn't be opposed to him starting, not at all. I'm just not sure if he's the best option as the starter right now.
I wouldn't be suprised if Miller and Oden come off the bench to start the season. But if they play well, both could be starting very soon.
Quick also talks about Rudy as a point guard. Apparently BRoy said that Rudy is the second best passer on the team behind Miller.
I think that Miller and Oden will still be on the second unit when the season starts but I think there will also be times when they both play with the first unit. They may end up logging more minutes per game than Blake and Przbilla but will not start.
McMillen already said Blake is starting at PG to start the PreSeason!!! I'm pretty sure preseason will determine everything so I'm not worried.
That's what I'm sayin. I think Miller will start with Webster/Oden..I don't think Martell will start from game 1...Just sayin I think he'll be there eventually. I'm not opposed to a Blake/Roy/Batum/LMA/Joel starting lineup with Miller/Rudy/Webs/Outlaw/Oden coming off the bench. It really doesn't matter who starts it's who's on the court for the most amount of time. We already know the starting unit I just listed can get the job done so why not make our second unit better than a lot of teams starting 5 by bringing Oden and Dre off the bench? Don't think it'll happen but I'm down with whatever. I can't wait any longer, the season needs to start.
i expect oden to start the season as the starter, but he'll still get plenty of minutes with miller even if miller comes off the bench. i don't see that being a big deal at all. the idea of true 1st and 2nd units isn't something that exists in the nba. they're all going to see minutes with each other. as far as specifically getting minutes for oden/miller together if one is starting and the other is on the bench, is it really that hard? just pull the pg first while leaving the center on the floor(or the opposite) and/or have them start the 2nd and 4th quarters on the floor together.
If the Blazers spent 7+ million on a back up PG I am going to be furious. Portland needed to upgrade 3 possitions. They needed a back up PF, a clear upgrade at SF and a better PG. They went after what they thought was a better SF, a much better back up PF, and then finally got something they needed in a better PG. At least a better PG in everyone's eyes but Nate's.
It's just the pre-season, and Nate has to reward Blakey for setting a Conditioning Test record while Miller failed it. If Miller started pre-season despite all that, Blake would lose a lot of trust in Nate. And it's that trust in coach and team to make the right decisions that will keep 8 starters from mutiny when 3 of them are on the bench.
If they wanted to get a backup PG, they should have just tried to sign Sessions for less money. At least that would've been a little easier to accept, IF what Quick is saying is true. I start to question the whole starting Joel over Greg thinking. It makes me think that, for all the talk about Greg improving over the summer, that if he's still not better than Joel, then wow. Makes one think, and not exactly pleasant thoughts.
Quick is sometimes right when he's breaking news but I don't ever think he's been right when evaluating the players. This is the same guy that was always adamant that BRoy was the PG of the future.
If Blake ends up starting I see it happening in the Nic Batum, rookie season mold; Steve will probably log somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen minutes a night by seasons end while I think Miller will be ramped up more and more as he and B-Roy get comfortable playing together. The real key will be to see if Brandon's supposed work on his off-the-ball game really paid off or not. Otherwise this could get real messy real quick.
That is another thing. Greg is our franchise center period. If he can't beat out Joel Przybilla....who is a fine center in his own right....then KP failed miserably in drafting Oden. I keep reading articles, and quotes from players saying this team will only go as far as Oden takes them, and if he isn't good enough to start then it should be considered an epic fail. Greg wants to start, put up good enough numbers to start...on one leg...If he doesn't start, I think his confidence will be next to nothing. Greg thinks of himself as an extremely important part of this team, and it's probably because that is what he has heard from everyone. If he doesn't start I would almost bet he will think he let the team, city and fans all down. And everything written about Greg, or said about him by Blazers officials will be Bullshit!!!!!
