Disrespecting Patty Mills

Written by mookie

Thursday, 04 March 2010 14:14

Travis Diener kicks Patty Mills

I hate Travis Diener. Alright, I don't really hate Travis Diener. However, I do hate what he represents.

The photoshop above illustrates exactly what the Portland Trail Blazers are doing to Patty Mills by signing Diener as their 15th man. They're saying, "we don't trust you."

Nate McMillan is a tough love coach -- one of those who considers himself of the old-school of thought. He likes tough play. He demands that you play grinding defence. He wants players to earn their stripes before giving them a shot. (At least, that is what I thought until he started a rookie in Nicolas Batum last season.) So it is no great surprise to see Mills sitting on the bench game after game, awaiting his turn.

Don't get me wrong, I don't expect Mills to be a rotation player this season, with the logjam that already exists on the Blazers roster. I do, however, expect him to get a run when the opportunity allows it. We have seen numerous examples where the Blazers were up by large margins, or depleted by injuries and yet McMillan would hold the young Aussie point guard at the end of the bench. Sitting.

These were the perfect opportunities to let Mills show what type of a lightning rod he can be. But not only that, they were the situations where he could have learnt the offense through practical experience, allowing him to ready himself come playoff time should the injury-bug continue to bite this franchise.

Instead, the Blazers braintrust set their energies to finding another point guard to round out their roster. Not only is Diener an inexperienced commodity by NBA point guard standards, but he has never shown himself to be all that promising. It's not like bringing him in is a likely long-term move to secure a player with outstanding potential, nor is it a situation of bringing in a heady veteran a decade of experience.

Patty Mills on bench Mills' experience in Blazers colours this far have consisted of garbage-garbage-garbage time. He normally is thrown into the fray when the game is not only decided, but where it has been decided for some considerable time. You know what that type of garbage time is like -- it's like a D-League match, but without the chance to actually affect the game result. Players are fast-breaking, they're of sub-standard quality. Consequently, Mills does not get a chance to play alongside the Blazers stars and gain any type of chemistry with them in preparation for when he is acutally required to contribute to the team.

I'm not an NBA coach, however I can see some benefit to giving Mills a five minute run towards the end of the second or third quarter in the right situations. Where the opponent dictates a matchup that could be exploited by Mills' speed, as opposed to Andre Miller's size and strength, it could be advantageous to let Mills run. All the while, he'd be giving you a chance to monitor his progress.

Meanwhile, it would seem that Diener will be the Blazers' choice to step in as the replacement killer, should something happen to Miller or Jerryd Bayless -- a player that is unfamiliar with the Blazers system. What does he bring to the team? An outside shooting touch and a conservative mindset. Mills has the outside stroke -- anyone who watched him at St Marys or with the Idaho Stampede knows that. Perhaps this all comes back to McMillan's penchant for grind-it-out play, with Diener being a more trusted type of point guard.

Despite all of this, I understand that my rant is pointless -- the move has been made. I also know that I come across as biased, being a huge fan of Mills. Regardless, this was one monologue I had to get off my chest.

Free Patty Mills!

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Comments (11) Add Comment

It's Patty time
written by outlaw fan, March 04, 2010

I think Patty should be getting time ahead of Bayless in a lot of games. we've seen too many crazy shots from J Bay.

Diener might be useful to shoot the 3... but Patty does that anyway!!

...
written by Sarah Moon, March 04, 2010

Wasn't one of Portland's problems in the playoffs last year (and pretty much a lot of the time the last two seasons)that the Blazers struggled with speedy point guards? May be it's worth giving Patty some run to see if his quickness can help in that area? Seems like he could add to the team's versatility potentially. But, we just don't know.

...
written by KneeJerkNBA, March 04, 2010

Watching Bayless try to play PG is like watching an infant run with a pair of scissors.

I don't get it either
written by swamigp, March 05, 2010

Why bring in Blake Lite when you have a young point guard waiting in the wings, whom they have kept around despite a foot injury? It doesn't make any sense. If Bayless gets hurt, how in the hell does Diener then play over Mills?

I agree. I think the move is really disrespecting the rookie. They are telling him 'we'd rather play a guy that hasn't played since January than send you out there.' It's sad, and has to be a difficult blow to Mills.

Put all the pieces together.
written by hg, March 05, 2010

Don't forget, Mills has been hurt all year, missed training camp, summer league and all the first half of the season. He was brought back from the D league because we needed bodies, plain and simple.

The Blazers choose a pg because
1. We had a roster place.
2. We have Dante that can play SF,PF and if absolutely necessary could play Center(ouch). We also have BRoy that can play SF, Batum can play PF.
3. JBay's ankle is sore and already is questionable in many games. His ankle is weak because of the injury therefore turning it often
4. Regardless, the 5th player is not likely to be an impact player, and may not have anything to do with Mills.

...
written by mookie @ A Stern Warning, March 05, 2010

Thanks for commenting everyone. I'm trying to "come down" a little from my anger issues, so will try to be reasonable here.

@outlaw fan & @KneeJerkNBA: There are times where the Blazers need a more pure point off the bench than Bayless. I guess the problem with Mills surplanting Bayless is the massive offensive impact JBay can have at times. He's inconsistent, but can be huge. Plus, I guess they figure that he has sat enough and will bite someone's head off T-Rex style, if you doesn't get burn.

Wasn't one of Portland's problems in the playoffs last year (and pretty much a lot of the time the last two seasons)that the Blazers struggled with speedy point guards? May be it's worth giving Patty some run to see if his quickness can help in that area?

@Sarah Exactly. This is the type of thing I'm talking about. Obviously he doesn't have to be a big minutes contributor, but his speed could be handy to change the pace in spurts. The Australian national team used him in a similar scenario. They had CJ Bruton (former Blazers draftee at one point) as the veteran with a similar style of heady play to Andre Miller and then brought Mills in to deal with the quicks like Chris Paul.

@swamigp: You're right, it is Blake-Lite essentially. I think it's become clear that this is what Nate is comfortable with... I know the Blazers owe Mills nothing, but it is a form of disrespect to bring in someone else when another guy is waiting for his chance.

@hg: All very good, sensible points. I think you're right -- I hope that you're right about the signing being nothing to do with Mills.

Yeah
written by swamigp, March 05, 2010

They've stunted Mills growth. If Diener gets more minutes than Mills, a very angry article will be written by yours truly, and probably by you as well.

It's said that this move is all because of insurance. Isn't Mills insurance enough? They have Miller, Mills, Rudy and Roy, all players capably of running the point in Bayless's absence.

...
written by ry, March 07, 2010

Blazers should try and sign randy Foye this offseason would make alot of sense

FIRE KEVIN PRITCHARD
written by cheme, March 18, 2010

i think kevin pritcher should BE kickED OUT OF THE BLAZERS MANAGEMENT TEAM BECAUSE I DONT LIKE WHAT HE HAS DONE SO FAR . I DID NOT THE FACT THAT HE LET GO OF CHANNING FRYE ,OUTLAW ,RODRIGUES AND NOW MILLS. THE ONLY PEOPLE HE SHOULD OF TRADED WAS WEBSTER , HOWARD ,PRYZBILLA ,PENDERGRAPH . WELL THE ONLY GOOD THING IS THAT HE DESPRETLTY GOT MARCUS CAMBY AND GOT RID OF STEVE BLAKE