Wednesday
Jan202010
Miller To Philly: Miss Me?
Andrew R Tonry | Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 7:09PM 
Whether or not that gets the monkey off Brandon Roy's back, we're not sure. But we'll get to that in a moment.
Miller was surely the man of the night, and those catcalls that Philadelphia fans rained down upon him--just as they do to all their players who save their teams from much uglier fates (hello, Donovan)--might have well as been "we miss you's." But Philly, a team in deep disarry, caught in the bermuda triangle between making the Eastern Conference playoffs and missing out on the draft lottery, had their chance this offseason, and said "thanks but no thanks" to Miller's steady services.
Now, The Quiet One's short time in Portland hasn't been all wine and roses. But it's getting to be. After the blow-up between Miller and Coach McMillan two weeks ago, something has changed. Miller is getting the fourth quarter minutes he desired all along, and in general, more room to play his game without fear of reproach. It's been hard on McMillan, who's been dealt inept point guards in Portland up until now, to understand. But the yelling match seems to have done it, evidenced not only by Miller's steady string of recent contributions, but McMillan offering his first public apology ever.
Brandon Roy tweaked his strained hamstring just seconds before entering the halftime break. He would not return. Here, Miller answered the call. He came out and scored 14 of his game-high 24 points in the third quarter. But aside from piloting the offense, one play in particular stuck out. It was beautiful.
On the Blazers' final offensive play of the third quarter, as a shot went up, Miller barreled through the Sixers frontline like a fullback shooting the hole. He stole position from a group of big men, ripped the ball down, and scored admidst the trees. It was pure grit, plus some veteran savvy--also, Miller's not-so-subtle way of flipping the bird to the Sixers brass.
Where Miller carried the third, Bayless starred alongside him in the final quarter. He scored 14 in the quarter, most of which were on knifing drives through the lanes. With 41.1 seconds to play, and the Blazers up 94-92, Bayless knocked down a pair of clutch free throws--not unlike ones he's missed in the past--to give the Blazers a more comfortable lead. Bayless finished with 18.
Which brings us, finally, back to Brandon Roy. Some would argue this belongs higher in the lede, but they're the ones who're surprised that Roy's balky hamstring wasn't all the way healed. It seemed pretty clear though, with the language that Roy's been using as of late. As reported by the Oregonian, Roy was kept out of Monday's game when he told the training staff, "I think I can play." They responded, that without absolution, he would sit. So what did Roy do? He didn't heal completely, but he learned to change his tone. Give him credit for wanting to go so bad, but for now, the Blazers' star player must remain on the bench. And that's exactly what the team will make him do. There'll be no questions next time. He'll return once fully rested. The scare, on the heels of the worst rash of injuries in, perhaps, franchise history, the Blazers will be jolted into dealing with this situation now and with the upmost caution.
Finally, there's that monkey that lives in the Wachovia Center. Unless you're counting tonight--and I'm not--Roy has not won there. I prefer it this way--keep the monkey until next season. An extra bit of motivation is never a bad thing.
Notes:
- The Blazers did a fine job on the Sixer bigs. They kept pace on the glass, 36-37. - Portland hit their last 14 from the charity stripe.
- Samuel Dalembert played an admirable game after traveling back from his earthquake-torn homeland of Haiti and running into the arena just in time for tip-off. He 10 points and 15 boards.
- LaMarcus Aldrdige was no slouch either. He finished with 23 points and nine boards.
- Martell Webster, on the other hand, fell back to Earth. He had two points (on 1-9 shooting) and grabbed a pair of rebounds. With his recent torrent play, Webster gets a one (and only one) game pass, but his streak of nine straight games in double-figures comes to an end.
Reader Comments (13)
Bayless starred alongside Miller in the 4th, not the third quarter. Good win for the Blazers though. I'm liking what I've been seeing out of Aldridge lately. I think if they can keep Perkins and Garnett off the glass in the next game they can have a descent shot at winning.
Andrei, sorry about that. We fixed that in the edits.
As for Boston, isn't it just the Blazers luck that KG will come back for that game? Might as well bring back Larry Bird as well. And zombie Len Bias, too.
What? Too soon?
Does that mean we can bring back zombie Drazen? Great to see Miller drop 24 in his old gym.
I'm starting to think Mike Rice is a serial killer.
So Mike Rice sits quietly at night after the chaos and gnaws gently on the femur bones of his victims, eh? Always wondered, and now it makes perfect sense....
Right, and in even stranger news the Blazers beat Philly... Really? I guess one should have expected this, anyone remember what Andre Miller did to the Blazers last year? Curious as to whether Brandon Roy has been taking notes on this Miller cat the last few games from the bench. I mean really, imagine Roy with Miller's game. Posting up? Zipping passes early on the shot clock just to keep the ball moving?
Alright, so it's one game and Miller's definitley not the player Roy is, but there games are so similar yet so far apart it's like watching our esteemed Mayor and Dick Cheaney play spin the bottle in a county wash room.....
Oops, a little far off base with that one. Putting the cuckoo back in the clock, my point, if there ever was one in the first place, is a little Miller in Roy could sure be a beautiful thing. Last year was never more evident against Houston when the Blazers couldn't buy buckets and couldn't make the Rockets pay for playing a garden gnome at point. Roy playing some point and posting Aaron 'Webster' Brooks on every play down the court sure might have produced something other than an ugly ass-whipping.....
andre miller sucks and so does your team mike rice sucks and does the other that be calling your games
we would be in terrible shape without miller right now. his game is solid
Alright, serial killer may have been a stretch. Maybe just a sadist when it comes to cameramen. I like Mike Rice - but sometimes I have an inkling that Mike Barrett feels like he's stuck next to an annoying guy on a plane and has to humor him for 3 hours.
Kdjinx , I like Roy's game. He's an amazingly efficient player. I would rather Roy create his own shots (which he is highly capable of) rather than "zipping a pass early in the shot clock just to keep the ball moving". When he gets in the lane it opens up shots for his teammates, and yes, he does pass the ball - 23.1, 4.6, 5.0 - not too shabby my friend. On the other hand Miller has been successful in this league for 10 years - so it would be ignorant to say Roy couldn't learn anything from him...maybe Miller can show him how to waddle down the lane and take jump shots without his feet leaving the floor.
kdjinx, no doubt you've likely heard of Ron Artest and Shane Battier? The only time Brooks guarded Roy was when a switch created the mismatch and Houston rarely let that happen.
R11- Kind of my point; by having Blake at the point it gives Houston a pass not taking advantage of Brooks, Derek Fisher, Ty Lawson etc being a defensive liability. Can any of those players handle Roy, or even Miller for that matter in the post? Especially late in the fourth when everything tightens up? Who the hell are those dimunitive point guards going to guard when you have a combination of Miller, Roy, Webster, Outlaw, (when he returns), Fernandez etc..... While Porland may not have a center, they have some size at the guard position they need to take advantage of.....
Blazer Brass- Roy's great at creating his own shot, but how longs the body going to hold up going 1 vs 5 for ten minutes of every fourth quarter? Heck, if I was a Cleveland fan I'd be saying the same thing about Lebron not getting in the post and playing pick and shoot ball.... All I want to see is Roy get off the ball a bit more, come off screens or post up, and save his body a bit ... He's only out four games for now, but it's a scary thought. Some dude named Jordan made a bit of a career with that post game after deciding 7 years of being flung to the floor driving into the trees was enough..... I'm just saying....
Agree with kdjinx. Very well put. I want Brandon to save his body also. And I hope that Brandon realizes this and takes advantage of what Miller offers!
kdjinx, what is with this post??? Is it supposed to be sarcasm????
"andre miller sucks and so does your team mike rice sucks and does the other that be calling your games"
Didn't right the 'Andre Miller sucks" thing, I at least am fond of capital letters.... but I do find it odd though...