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…