Portland Trailblazers Sign Point Guard Andre Miller

Now that the signing of point guard Andre Miller to the Portland Trailblazers is official, the next question becomes how will the Portland Trailblazers use Andre Miller with their current rotation?

Initially it seems that many think that because Andre Miller is a ten year veteran who is used to playing large minutes in a starting capacity on a team that has been to the playoffs, it only seems natural that he will assume that role on the roster of the Portland Trailblazers. Well actually I'm convinced that Coach Nate McMillan will not have Andre Miller start for the Blazers, and here is why.

With Brandon Roy's place in the starting lineup secure I think Portland will look to have Steve Blake start because he has a better shooting percentage from the three point line over his career than Miller. This should serve to help an improved Greg Oden, who will likely start this season, and keep the lane options open for Brandon Roy to create.

I think Andre Miller will be more effective playing as the backup where he will line up nicely against defending backup point guard defenders who will not be able to keep up with his inside game, and it will expand our inside game when Joel Przybilla, Travis Outlaw/Jeff Pendergraph/Dante Cunningham, Martell Webster/Nicholas Batum, and Rudy Fernandez are on the floor. This unit has shooting percentage from the outside to keep a defense honest as well as give Miller the opportunity to create for himself on the floor without gumming up the works for other inside players. I also think that Miller's ability to run the ball will allow for more of those spectacular lob passes that we used to see from recently departed Sergio Rodriguez to Nicholas Batum and Rudy Fernandez.

Depending on specific game situations I could see Miller playing with Brandon Roy during the fourth quarter where Roy will still likely take on a majority of the point guard duties. This will likely occur when the Blazers already have a lead and want to protect it. To do so I expect them to keep the pressure up on opposing defenses by taking inside for high percentage shots. This kind of play can also work nicely when as a team you are trying to run time off of the clock. In this scenario, I see the long distance shooting coming from Roy at shooting guard, and Martell Webster at small forward.

It seems clear to me that except for very rare situations Jerryd Bayless will not see many minutes on the floor at all, unless the Blazers are in the middle of a huge blowout victory, which with this roster blowouts look like they could be a greater possibility.

It seems clear to me that with the loss of Yao Ming next season and the loss of Ron Artest that the Rockets will be weaker next year. I'm not convinced that Trevor Ariza will give the Rockets what Ron Artest was capable of giving them. I'm equally convinced that the Lakers became weaker by signing Ron Artest. Phoenix lost Shaq, which was always a defensive problem for teams. For the most part, the Western Conference got older and didn't get much better during the draft and free agent season. The only team, other than Portland in the Western Conference who appears to be more dangerous next year is Utah, and this even without Boozer, should he be traded. I imagine that if they are able to get back a healthy Kirilenko and Williams, as well as an increased role for Millsap, that they are primed to be at the top of the conference once again. I expect Denver to continue their competitive ways if, and only if, they are able to keep their locker room strife to a minimum next season, which may be asking quite a bit, after the salary cuts that appear will be made, are made by their owner and general manager.

This spells out a very good chance that with the addition of Andre Miller that the Blazers will likely exceed their win total of 54 games last year by at least two or three games, if not more. It also seems that with the playoff experience of last year under the belt of the current roster added to the five years of playoff experience that Andre Miller possesses, that the Blazers are now primed to make a deep run into the Western Conference playoffs.

It should be an amazing 2009-2010 season!