Oregon Sports Live

Welcome to Part 2 of the first day of Blazers Media day.  OSLers Mike Whitman and Andrew Theen were in attendance.  Here are some insights from assistant coaches Monty Williams and Maurice Lucas.  More to come.

Monty Williams (click here for interview with Monty)

- Coach Williams said his recruitment for the head coaching job in Minnesota was “flattering” and a “good portfolio builder.”  He praised Kurt Rambis as a great choice.  Williams said of the T’Wolves, “they have to want you, and in my situation they didn’t and you have to live with that.”

- Williams is totally jacked for the season opener.  He said he loathes training camp because you “plod along.”  He really hates training camp.

- Williams said if he were playing…training camp would be a different story.  Unfortunately as a coach, “I’ve got to be as objective as I can and help these guys get a fair shake.”

- One final jab at training camp, “It’s like digging a ditch.  It’s not that exciting.”  Tell us how you really feel Monty.

- Williams said he expects the team to get off to a great start and really shock some teams because of the addition of Andre Miller and a “more enthusiastic Greg Oden.”  Williams talked more about Greg’s development, learning how to deal with the rigors of the professional game, and just exerting more effort on our audio snippet.

Maurice Lucas Is Back And Everyone in The Blazers Organization Is Pumped

Maurice Lucas (click here for interview with Coach Lucas)

- Coach Lucas is back after a scary year of medical issues.  Lucas had surgery for bladder cancer in April.  He says he’s “feeling pretty good.  The strength isn’t there in full yet.”

- Lucas obviously “didn’t pay a whole heckuva lot of attention” to the woes of Greg Oden last year.  He was coping with his own serious medical issues, but Lucas says during the playoffs he started to feel better and watch more of the action.

-Lucas said Greg Oden had to go through a stage of his career where he struggled mightily.  Lucas said he believes last year was that year.

- Coach Lucas talked to us for a long time, and he talked about philosophical issues: whether a big man is born with “the killer instinct” and if not, how to hone it.  He talked about what could be LaMarcus Aldridge’s big year, Dante Cunningham’s talent, and more.  Listen to the 5 minute clip with “The Enforcer” Coach Lucas from the link above.

It’s hard to believe, but the NBA season is just over a month away.  The Trail Blazers coaching staff and Kevin Pritchard catered to a dozen or so beautiful media types for a couple hours on Wednesday.  OSLers Mike Whitman and Andrew Theen were part of that crowd.  Here are some takeaway thoughts from KP and Coach Nate McMillan’s interrogations:

Kevin Pritchard Speaking to the Masses

Kevin Pritchard:

- KP made the point of saying that every year and each team has a new identity.  The identity of this year’s Trail Blazers is still under construction.  Pritchard did say, “we’re going to compete like crazy.”

- He said the goals this year are higher: win the division outright, and win a playoff series.  “The crowd in this building gives us a huge advantage.”

- Pritchard talked about losing in Houston last year and looking at his star players as they left the court: “I can tell you that they felt incomplete.  And that gives me hope.”

- “We’re going to do some damage.  We’re not afraid to say that.”

- Nate “is as good as they are” regarding managing rosters and lineups.  Pritchard says, “that’s how you win championships.

- Pritchard said the team is loaded with “creators” and he included Rudy Fernandez in that category.  Rudy didn’t show a lot of off the dribble last year, but he sure did include his teammates in the action.  That is a form of creation in and of itself.

- Pritchard’s team motto for the season could make an interesting T-shirt idea:  “Hard, Fast, Together”

- KP tried to lift the load off of Oden’s shoulders.  “Don’t point a finger at one player.  When he plays, we’re a better team.”  He cited statistics as proving that.

- Andre Miller is “The Director” and he “doesn’t take plays off.”  Pritchard says Miller will help the younger players develop quicker because he makes everyone around him a better player.

Nate McMillan Says He's Ready For The Season Opener Right Now

Nate  McMillan:

- McMillan seemed excited to talk about Andre Miller, who he classified as  “a guy who can make some decisions.”  He’s adding the decision-maker to Pritchard’s “director” nickname.

- He said that the goals of the last four years have been met, transitioning from a team that no one respected to a team that wins games.

- “We want to win our division. That’s a goal, to win a playoff series.”

- McMillan said this year’s team has the most depth of any squad he’s coached. “I’ve got to get guys to play at their highest level. I think we had the depth at the start of the season, and then Martell went down and we lost that depth.”

- He said adding Miller and Howard is huge for the veteran experience factor.

- Nate danced around the question of whether the Blazers had a roster logjam, but said he felt the depth was a good thing. When pressed for a number, he said you start with 10 guys, but he felt comfortable playing any of the 12 guys on the bench.

- “I think we’ve positioned ourselves to compete in the West. Our goal is to win big in the playoffs, and the ultimate goal is a championship.”

- When asked if this was the first year that the Blazers had no excuses, Nate said that they’ve never made excuses.

- On Greg Oden: “He understands that we need him this year.”

- “If we all show improvement, we’re going to win a lot of games.”

- McMillan admitted that a lot of things “went right for us” last year.  We’ve got to show it and still must do it.”

- “We need to get better” on the defensive end and we know that.”

Interviews and analysis with Monty Williams, John Townsend, Maurice Lucas, and Joe Prunty still to come…