He was only stellar in that first game. The rest of the series, he did nothing. That's why we lost the series. It's been Miller's MO for awhile now. Win game 1 on road, lose in 6. Ask the Sixers.
They focused their defense on him and the Blazers weren't able to adjust. Miller isn't quick enough or strong enough to score on Grant Hill.
So, exactly who DID play well enough to win that series with the Suns? You guys want to blame Dre, but nobody played well in that series. Go back and look at the box scores. I think Blazer fans lead the league in back-biting. Go Blazers
That's because Hill didn't have to worry about Miller shooting the ball, so he sagged off and used his length to stop Miller's penetration. Miller is plenty strong enough compared to Grant Hill, but when you can't shoot, and a guy with length is defending your penetration, you're not going to be effective. If Miller could shoot the ball, Grant Hill would not have been defending him. It's Miller's major weakness on offense, and the reason he's never been considered an elite PG.
Miller shoots 46%. That's pretty damned good for a PG. He can't shoot the three ball. But feel free to making shit up. Go Blazers
Repped! No shit. People around here are fucking idiots. First, basketball is a team sport. Some posters continually FAIL to realize that very basic fact. Saying shit like Miller most to Orlando in six games, or Miller lost to Phoenix is just plain retarded. The 76ers lost to Orlando and the Blazers lost to Phoenix. In the Orlando series, Miller was the best player on his TEAM, but the rest of his TEAM wasn't good enough to beat a much better, much higher seeded Orlando team that went to the finals that year. Surprise, the 6th seeded 41-41 76ers lost to the 3rd seeded 59-23 Magic. Last year against Phoenix, again, it was Miller's TEAM that was not good enough to beat the other TEAM. And, once again, the 6th seed lost to the 3rd seed. Gee, that never fucking happens. Who could have predicted that - ESPECIALLY WHEN PORTLAND'S BEST PLAYER MISSED HALF THE SERIES AND PLAYED LIKE SHIT (PER = 4.5) IN THE OTHER HALF. Yeah, but Miller can't shoot from the outside, therefore it must be his fault, and his fault alone, that the Blazers lost to the Suns. Give me a fucking break. The haters will continue to hate. Meanwhile, Miller is the second best player on our current active roster and continues to show up to play every night, while our "good" players continue to sit on the sidelines in street clothes. He is the 5th highest paid player on the team (and will be the 6th highest next year if he's still here). Is he an elite" PG? No. Did anyone ever claim he was? No (can you say "Strawman"?). Is he paid like an "elite" PG? No. I still fail to understand the hatred this guy has gotten from his own fanbase since the day he arrived in town. No matter what he does, he's ALWAYS the scape goat when the Blazers lose, but never gets any credit when they win. Shit, he's not even my favorite Blazer, not even close, but he is a Blazer, and therefore I defend him against the constant attacks. It's not like the guy isn't trying. It's not like he totally sucks (18.9 PER, 37.2 AST%, 4.1 WS, 0.134 WS/48). Yet, he constantly gets dumped on by his own fanbase. I have no idea why. BNM
Nobody respects Miller's outside shot. Do you even watch the games? He has an eFG% of 41% for jump shots, yet those are 77% of his shots. That eFG number goes up to 64% for close shots, yet those account for only 23% of his attempts. http://www.82games.com/0910/09POR4.HTM His TS% also stinks (52%) because he is settling more for shooting outside shots this season. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/millean02.html The guy isn't a good outside shooter. He has a decent (?) overall FG% because he is so good close to the rim. The problem for him becomes getting to the rim when a player with length plays off of him. Don't get mad at me because Andre Miller doesn't have a 20' game that opponents have to respect when defending him. If you want to dispute the meaning of Miller's stats, I welcome it, but accusing me of making things up seems incorrect. You seem to be the poster making things up.
Repping circles are awesome, so I repped you. Let's rep the guy who thinks that Miller is a good outside shooter!
Do you even read posts you're responding to? No one says that Miller is any good at 3PT shooting, but Steve Blake was never good at driving the lane or passing, nor was Jarret Jack. No one had to really worry about Blake or Jack's passing/driving abilities, just load up on Roy because no one else is going to drive the ball. At this time we don't need a "PG" who is going to stand around outside and wait for a non-existent Roy to pass him the ball. Miller is the best PG we've had in the last ten years(possibly longer as Damon wasn't that great either). If you really want to blame a series on a PG, look at Steve Blake's horrible 3PT airball with 10 seconds left against Houston that pretty much sealed the series for the Rockets. Even that isn't entirely Blake's fault because the team played crappy in both series, you can't just blame one player for the loss.
Miller lost the Phoenix series. By almost single-handedly winning game 1 and forcing Phoenix to change their defense to focus on him, creating opportunities for the coach and rest of his teammates to try to exploit, he lost the series. Miller blew it...the team would have won that series without Miller. And probably swept the series if they had Blake who knew his role and, most importantly, cared about winning. That's the most balanced, objective view of that playoff series.
He can't shoot the 3-ball, but he can't shoot consistently from 20', either. Outside shooting isn't solely about 3pt%. Przybilla has a 65% FG%. I guess I'm not sure what oldguy's even was, since I was talking about Miller's outside game, or lack thereof, as opposed to his 3pt shooting. Thanks for asking if I read the posts, though. I'm wondering the same thing about you.
I indirectly noted that, pointing out that Blake's comfort with winning would have made a big difference. And I think my pants are fancy, not silly.
Pardon my misinterpretation, when most people get on Miller about his "outside shooting" they refer to someone like Blake or Mo Williams being an example of what we should be striving for & since their main specialty is 3PT shooting, I assume that is what people are dogging Miller about. However, @ 20' you might as well be at the 3PT line. Miller doesn't have great range, but then stating that any of the other Blazers are consistent from 20' is also wrong. Roy, LaMarcus, Matthews, Batum, Rudy & a lot of other NBA players may be ~better~ than Miller, but they are still streaky at best from that range. I'd much rather him have a better interior & passing game than to be able to do streaky shooting from the "outside". Yes and stats don't mean everything as you pointed out with Przybilla, so they don't tell the whole story of what Miller brings to the team either.
Avery Johnson couldn't shoot the three ball, yet the Spurs somehow won two championships with him as their point guard.... go figure.
