Leading up to the season, one of the greatest positional debates for the Blazers was at the point guard position, with fans everywhere arguing the merits of starting either Steve Blake or Andre Miller: Blake, the proven starter who helped lead the team to a 54-win season last year with a shooting touch that complements the game of Brandon Roy perfectly, and Miller, the prize acquisition of the offseason with a keen sense for running an offense and getting his teammates involved. However, given Miller’s limited shooting range, his style of play was often questioned as far as how it would be utilized alongside Roy.
Steve Blake began the season the starter, and while his play couldn’t be directly attributed to the team’s slow start, the team has clearly been trying to track down its collective identity. Coming off the bench, Miller struggled with his shot in Portland’s stagnant offense, but has effectively managed the pace of the game and has been successfully getting his teammates involved.
Needing a change in the on-court dynamic, Nate McMillan tweaked the starting lineup yesterday against the Spurs in a highly unexpected way. He started Miller at point guard…and Blake as well. While a two point-guard backcourt is somewhat unorthodox, it addressed McMillan’s desire to get more ball-movement and speed on the floor. The new-lineup worked to perfection as the Blazers launched out to a 29-14 lead. Although the move seemed to address some of the glaring weaknesses of the early season, this change has deeper implications for the rest of the year.
I think the Blazers know what they have in Miller, and they also know that they haven’t been getting the most out of his talents. I think they know how deadly they could be if they could figure out how to find the best way to utilize Miller and Roy on the floor together (a pairing that has been nothing short of awkward thus far). I think that Miller has yet to find his comfort level within this team, and it is having an adverse effect on his shooting touch.
It seems as though Miller still doesn’t quite know where he fits in, what his role is, or what he has to do to put the team in the best position to win. Miller has always been the starter, the play-maker and the initiator. We saw McMillan preaching to his squad to play fast and push the ball up the floor, something that Miller can and will do if given more freedom within the offense. I would imagine that the Miller-Blake tandem start is likely a short-term adjustments to increase the comfort level of Miller and buffer his eventual transition to the sole starting point guard on this team. Blake is still there as a beacon of consistency, an outside shooting threat, and a familiar face for Roy to defer to when he gets caught in a jam. Miller can mentally approach the game as a starter and have an immediate impact on the game’s tempo from the opening tip. I think you will see that as Miller’s minutes increase, so will his shooting percentages. We’ll also begin to see more of those crafty moves and creative finishes in the paint.
I’ve always believed that Blake is the perfect back-up point guard in this league. That isn’t to say that he hasn’t been a good starter for the Blazers or that he isn’t a good fit in the lineup. He’s a great team player who knocks down the shots he’s supposed to, always plays hard and can direct the offense seamlessly. Blake is also the type of player who will accept his role and will make the most of it whether that is in the starting lineup or coming off of the bench. However it ends up, Blake will play an incredibly important role for the Blazers this season. Still, I think the Blazers owe it to themselves to give Miller a real chance at being successful – and take this team to another level.
It will be interesting to see how long Blake and Miller continue to start alongside one another. It could even come to a stop tomorrow against the Minnesota Timberwolves who start the 6′9″ Corey Brewer at shooting guard. Regardless, don’t be surprised to see the Blazers continue to put these two point guards on the floor together when the situation allows. The sooner the Blazers can define their players’ roles and decide how they want to play this year, the sooner they can return to their winning ways.
