Forming Alliances

It sounds to me like people are excusing Andre Miller for creating divisions due to his own lack of PT (and production). How about he just acts like a "veteran" and bides his time? No wonder the guy has bounced around the league.

 

You know, somebody said something somewhere about how this franchise never learns from its mistakes. But here we are getting our knickers in a twist about a report written by Jason Quick. In fact, the original poster knew that if (s)he made clear who it was by, it would instantly be dismissed. So let me broadcast it loud and clear: THE REPORT WAS BY JASON QUICK. I think he wishes he wrote for the soaps.

 

Well considering I haven't seen him do anything to the contrary..what are you talking about? I haven't seen one interview with Miller making waves. I haven't seen one player saying Miller is a problem. In fact, I have seen Miller do pretty much everything Nate has asked of him. So I am puzzled at best by your statement.

 

I'm talking about the alleged "alliances" being created on the team. If we're all going to go on speculation, I'm going to be suspect of the guy who can't stay on a team for 4 years.

Side note; this team really misses Outlaw.

 

I don't think it is so much as alliances as it is players getting sick of being treated unequal by their coach. People tend to form bonds by commonality. There are several players on this team that can do no wrong in Nates eyes, while there are other guys who are more talented who get shafted every game. How long would you put up with that before you started to turn on your coach? The only people you could vent to would be players in a similar situation.

 

How do we know it's any of it. Plus, who on the team besides Oden and Bayless (in limited minutes) is actually playing better than they did last season, Miller included?

 

We don't know it's any of it. But if there was that is what I would put my money on.

Rudy was actually shooting in the .550 range when he was getting consistent minutes. At one point he was shooting .550 from 2 pt land and .450 from 3 point land. Then his minutes started getting jerked around. With players like Rudy, who can score a lot real fast, you have to stick with them because it might not be quarter1, quarter2, or quarter 3 where they go off. They can't get on a hot streak without being in the game.

Meanwhile, Steve Blake is shooting .379 through this portion of the season. He can't do any wrong. He is Steve Blake.

 

Ummm ... Is this a trick question?

 

"Thank you for your overly negative opinion of Miller" . . . would you consider that a genuine thank you?

Your kidding if you think by saying they should give one last chance and start Miller and then trade him is you being supportive of Miller . . . you are one of the biggest Miller bashers here, you don't see that?

 

Rudy's minutes went down because he is playing like crap. Nate didn't limit his minutes until Rudy showed zero interest on defense and started missing shots.

Bayless is starting to see the court more. If Blake continues to stumble, I'm sure he'll be benched. That said, Blake wasn't the problem last night. He played OK.

 

If Miller starts and succeeds, good for him and good for the team. May as well see what that team has in him before deeming him a failure. I can see why no other team showed much interest in him this summer. I hope he proves me wrong. If I'm a "Miller basher", so be it. He was expected to come in and be an above average PG, and he can't even beat out Steve Blake.

 

OK, I'll go along with that post and see the logic in it. I thought you were trying to build yourself up as a Miller supporter because you said you think he should start.

I share a lot of your same thoughts, so sorry if you feel like I was giving you a hard time.

 

I don't buy that argument for a second. The reason Rudy has struggled defensivly is they keep sticking him on SF types (like last night) who physically punish him from night to night. That is a coaching problem. Not his. Secondly you fail to recognize the fact that Rudy leads the team in steals, by far. Steals usually don't show up on individual defense. They show up by having a long fast player who get into the passing lanes. Steal=Easy buckets for the Blazers. But you have to be on the floor to get them.

See that is the thing that Nate does not get. Good players might have a bad quarter or two. But they will get it back for you later. You can't give up on them mid flight. You have to let them run their stuff.

 

This is begining to sound like the end of the Mike Schuler era. That team was also divided. One camp (eg Clyde, Kiki) wanted Schuler g-o-n-e. The other camp (eg Duck, Terry, Jerome) didn't want to rock the boat.

The team dumped Schuler and promoted Adelman - one of the smartest decisions in franchise history. The players quickly got over it and all rallied to the new coach.

Probably way too much of a fairy tale ending to hope for here.

 

I don't know.... this team got along before, it can do it again.

 

My guess is it is actually getting along right now. Just the media is blowing this out of proportion to get web clicks and sell newspapers.

 

It's really hard to say. There's so much information out there, I can't get an accurate read on the team. The only thing we know for sure is that they are underperforming. Why? That's the big question.

 

I am a Miller supporter. I'm a supporter of every player on the team. I just get down on some at times when I feel they aren't producing as they should be producing. Believe me, I hope Miller ends up averaging 10 apg and wins a title here in Portland. I want him to succeed. Heck, the team NEEDS him to succeed.

So, do it.

 

He's talking about the effect of Sergio's departure/Miller's presence/Travis's absence.

Good chemistry, minus 2 real fun guys, plus a quiet loner who wants your minutes, equals team discord and failure.