Oregon Sports Live

Note to Nate: Andre Miller is not Sergio Rodriguez. No offense to Serge.

The word around our local corner of the Internet is that Andre Miller and Nate McMillan engaged in a heated argument after Thursday’s practice.

The dispute supposedly centered on (what else?) Andre Miller’s seemingly always changing role within the team. Naturally, team officials are either denying the confrontation took place or dismissing the argument as nothing major. The Columbian’s Brian T. Smith, however, quoted both Miller and McMillan during the overheard exchange, and not all of the language was G-rated.

So, the real question is this: if in fact said argument did take place, and if in fact Andre did use said colorful language to express his dissatisfaction with his place on the team, does the veteran point guard have a legitimate point?

You bet your ass he does.

If you’ve watched these last few games, I bet you agree with me. Finally allowed to play significant minutes due to a bevy of Blazer injuries and poor Steve Blake catching pneumonia, Dre has played his best basketball of the season. Attacking with veteran versatility, Miller has put the team on his back at times and kept them in close ballgames by scoring in double figures (23, 22 and 16 in his last three games).

But the points have been a bonus. What the team was looking for when they signed the former Ute was veteran leadership and floor generalship. And that’s exactly what he’s given the Blazers in the month of January. Against a humongous Clippers squad in LA, Miller dropped 16 dimes in a tough loss. Finally feeling the flow of the game, Dre looked up the floor, got into the lane, blew past Baron Davis hundreds of times…and all his teammates had to do was cut to the basket or step out to the three point line. That’s easy basketball. That’s fun.

At home against a red-hot Grizz team, Andre showed his commitment to hustle and scrappy play (and his intelligence. He had the diminutive Mike Conley on him most of the night) by snagging 10 rebounds, five of them offensive. Considering the way Memphis crashes the offensive glass, without the Miller-instigated extra possessions, Portland would have been toast. As it was, they nearly won the game.

And yet, despite his excellent play, Miller is consistently being left out in the cold during crunch time. This is baffling to me. I’m baffled.

Why not give the man some late minutes and see if he can’t win you a ballgame or two?

Yes, Andre is a high-risk, high-reward type of player, and yes, he’s going to turn the ball over sometimes while trying to make plays (six turnovers against the Warriors on Jan. 2). But let me pose a question: are y’all, as Blazer fans, really more comfortable with Jerryd Bayless playing those fourth-quarter minutes?

Bayless is an impact player at the moment. He’s not quite ready for primetime, but he has as much raw ability and athleticism as one could hope for. Doesn’t it make more sense to give him big second and third-quarter minutes and turn him loose on the D? Let him attack the rim to his prehistoric heart’s content without concern of saving fuel for crunch time. In short, let him do what he does best, and let Andre take a leadership role on this team.

I get the feeling that there’s insecurity not only within the organization but also within the city as a whole. It seems like people are afraid that if Miller assumes a position of power that it will somehow diminish the leadership of Brandon, LaMarcus and Blake, and the Blazers will suddenly all run around the court, flailing their arms wildly, screaming at anyone within earshot, “PLEASE GOD TELL ME WHAT TO DOOOOOOO!!!!!”

This sounds similar to the idea that allowing gays to marry will somehow make straight marriage less good. I’ll give you a second to let the idiocy of both statements sink in.

The bottom line is this: if Andre Miller is complaining about his playing time, his role, his purpose on this team, then good.

Maybe somebody will listen.