<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Juan Dixon was the last player out of the shower after the Trail Blazers? loss to San Antonio on Wednesday in the Rose Garden. As he slowly dressed, the fourth-year shooting guard took a couple of chugs of a protein drink, mentally surveyed his night of work ? 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting, including back-to-back airball 3-point attempts in the closing seconds ? and shook his head. ?It happens,? Dixon said. ?Sometimes your shot won?t fall for you. All my shots were flat. I?ll get in the gym (Thursday) and get some shots, rest my legs and get ready for Minnesota (tonight).? Dixon?s errant performance was an aberration. Since taking the starting spot Dec. 18, he has put together an impressive run of 22 straight double-figure scoring games. He has made shots from near and far, he has made shots with the game on the line, and he has been consistent with his production, averaging 17.5 points while shooting 48 percent from the field over that stretch. ?Juan has become a very important piece to our puzzle,? Portland coach Nate McMillan says. ?He is a scorer. He is a streaky shooter, but he can put up some points. We need that. He is very competitive ? I didn?t know how competitive until I got the opportunity to work with him and see the fire in the guy. He is fearless. He is not afraid to take the big shot, not afraid to face the challenge of a Kobe Bryant or a Ray Allen.? Thrives as a starter After three seasons as a reserve with Washington, Dixon came to Portland in August as a budget-conscious, three-year, $8 million free-agent purchase. At 6-3 and 165 pounds, he is undersized at shooting guard, but he had shown with the Wizards that on good nights, he could fill up the basket. ?(Portland GM) John Nash and I felt Juan could give us some scoring,? McMillan says. ?We felt we would probably struggle in that area. He?s done that for us. He loses a lot in size, but he has a great deal of confidence in his offensive game.? That confidence wavered in Dixon?s first weeks as a Blazer. During the preseason, he shot .317 from the field, was 1-of-12 on 3-point attempts and averaged 5.1 points. In the 21 games before securing a starting job, he averaged 9.2 points on .379 shooting. There were huge games ? 19 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the line against Detroit, 28 points on 13-of-22 shooting against the Hornets ? mixed with a lot of clunkers. Then Dixon, 27, became a starter, and things clicked. ?I was definitely pressing when I first got here,? Dixon says. ?I wanted to play. Coach (McMillan) hadn?t set his rotation. I was trying to show him what I can do, but I put pressure on myself.? Another factor, Dixon says, is he played little basketball this summer as he waited to sign a free-agent deal. ?I was laying back so I wouldn?t get injured and blow (a potential contract),? he says. ?I needed to get my timing back. It worked itself out. I want to thank (McMillan) for the opportunity. I knew if I got a fair shot, I could help this team win some games. ?The same thing happened for me my sophomore year at Maryland. First couple of games, I struggled. Then Coach (Gary Williams) put me in the starting lineup. I had two big games, and right there, I had my spot for the next three years.? A perfect pair It is no coincidence Dixon has thrived alongside backcourt mate Steve Blake, who joined Portland?s starting five the game before Dixon. Dixon and Blake led the Terrapins to the 2002 NCAA championship and played two seasons together with the Wizards. ?We?ve played a lot of ball together. I?d credit a lot of my success to us just knowing one another,? says Dixon, who averages 13.5 points and is shooting .400 from 3-point range. ?I know when he is going to make a backdoor pass. We make eye contact, read each other?s body movement ? that helps a lot.? Like many scorers, Dixon can be a selfish shooter. That makes Blake, a pass-first point guard, a perfect complement. ?I?m always trying to read Juan, trying to figure out a way to make the game easier for him, to get him shots,? Blake says. ?He knows I want him taking shots. That gives him a lot of comfort playing alongside me.? Dixon, the smallest starting 2 guard in the league, often defends the opposing point guard while Blake, who is 6-3 but can play bigger, takes on the 2 guard defensively. No matter who he defends, Dixon has the same objective. ?They have to guard me, too,? he says with a wink. ?I have to take advantage of my quickness at the offensive end, make those guys chase me around screens and try to wear them down.? Portland has won six of its last 10 games and has been less than competitive only once in that stretch ? in a 98-83 loss at Golden State. Dixon is hopeful the Blazers? master plan to playoff contention isn?t that far off. ?We are making some huge strides,? he says. ?We are working hard and listening to the coaches and getting better. We beat a good Seattle team on the road Monday night. We know we can win. We have a lot of confidence right now. Once we get Darius Miles back (from knee surgery), we can make a lot of noise.?</div> http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=33742
Im sorry but Dixon contributes unadvised shots and thats it. Im glad Darius is back to keep the ball from getting into Dixons hands as much. Trade Dixon and Miles for a 1st rounder or two, please.
