Portland Trail Blazers fans were yesterday saddened to hear of Andre Miller‘s one game suspension for striking Blake Griffin, which meant that his league-leading consecutive games played streak would end at 632 — a streak that had been in existence since January 2003. On the other hand, the news was somewhat bittersweet for Patty Mills fans, as it provided an opportunity for some increased minutes for the dynamite Aussie point guard… and even… perhaps… a starting role.
Initial word from coach Nate McMillan (via Jason Quick of the Oregonian) was that Patty would indeed get the start, as he was currently next on the depth chart as the first point guard off the bench. However, after sleeping on the idea of the relatively inexperienced Mills taking on Steve Nash of the Suns, McMillan has apparently decided to go with a return of Nicolas Batum in the starting lineup. This would mean that Brandon Roy and Wesley Matthews would handle the ball in the opening minutes.
The good news however for Mills fans is, that despite him not getting his first NBA start today, he will at least get sizeable minutes — something he has been awaiting for the entire year-plus that he has been with the Blazers in the NBA.
Fellow #MorePattyPlease fan, Sarah Moon sent me this awesome image of the projected starting lineup on the Oregonian’s website this morning:
Of course, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a reality now — but it’s a nice look.
What would Patty think of the idea? Something like the image below, I suspect…
One of the best images ever, for sure. It reminds me a lot of Scrappy Doo’s Puppy Power! (below)
