After helping the Australian Boomers dispense with a Game 3 victory over the New Zealand Tall Blacks 92-68 in Sydney, contributing 14 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals, Patty Mills stopped for a quick interview.
You must be happy with wrapping up the series like this?
It was a good series. We were together for a number of weeks before the series and it just gave us a good quality time together. We got some great games in. We had some international powerhouses, so we were as prepared as we were going to be going into this series.
There was no doubt in our mind that we could get this job done, and get it done very well. And that’s what we did. There’s obviously a lot of goals that we want to achieve and there’s a long way before we can achieve those goals. But we’ve gotten off to a good start.
Were you happy with your game? Is there anything you want to change?
Yeah, the different teams I play on, I have different roles. There are different demands that I have. I think it’s something with this team that I still have to get a better grasp of. I’m getting there, I’m still not there yet. But the demands that Brett Brown has put on me, is being a leader. And Matty Nielsen has done a great job of captaining the guys. And the guys really like him and respect him as a captain. And that’s really what you need in that position. That’s something that I want to grab a hold of, so that when Matty does finish, I can step in there and take over. I’m learning from a great, great teacher. So when the time comes, hopefully I’ll be ready to do it.
Are you excited about the Tigers and playing in Australia again?
Yeah man, it’s an exciting time for me at the moment. Getting the opportunity to come back to Australia and live in the country for however long it may be and just play, you know? You’ve got the footy going on at the moment, the Melbourne Cup on in November — all these things are on at this time of year. It’s great and it’s going to be Summer so it’s exciting. So I’m really looking forward to it, and kickstarting my career too.
It’ll be great to spend some time with your family…
Yeah, we had a lot of family from parts that have travelled to watch me in games in this series and they’d never been to see me live before, so it was a good opportunity just to show them that.
Do you keep in contact with many of your Portland Trail Blazers teammates?
Yeah, definitely. There are a couple that said that they’re going to come out visit me over Christmas and New Years, so it’ll be good to show them around!
