Actually Miller and Oden were the best players in pre-season by far. Bayless did struggle. But even more importantly, Blake was REALLY struggling and still is.
Miller's been up and down, but what part of Bayless' game has been inconsistent (aside from his PT)? http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/gamelog?playerId=3417 not a single game where he shot under 40% from the floor. Of course there's more to being a point guard than just hitting shots, and defensively he's still got a lot to learn, but sometimes it's not about performance with Nate, it's about loyalty. The fact of the matter is that Blake has been having a down year from the jump and it took Nate a very long time to decide to make a change.
Bayless's problems are on the defensive end. Miller's are on both ends. If Blake could hit 3 threes a game right now he would still be starting. Bayless and Miller are getting better at both ends and Blake is complete non-factor on offense. Neither was the case earlier this season. If Bayless had played decent team defense then he would have been the starter at the start of the season.
