Blazers Insider: Nate McMillan faces difficult choices And so, the great debate begins. How in the heck does Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan figure out how to use this talented and deep roster? As of Tuesday morning, McMillan envisioned a starting unit that stayed intact from last season's 54-win season: Steve Blake at point guard, Brandon Roy at shooting guard, Nicolas Batum at small forward, LaMarcus Aldridge at power forward and Joel Przybilla at center. The second unit would be the one that has spent the first week of the exhibition season practicing against the starters: Andre Miller at point guard, Rudy Fernandez at shooting guard, Martell Webster at small forward, Travis Outlaw at power forward and Greg Oden at center. This has drawn great interest from inside the Blazers' locker room, and of course in every sports pub throughout the state. Miller, the big-time free agent acquisition, coming off the bench? Oden, the No. 1 overall pick, the manchild with unlimited potential, not starting? Is the Blazers' coach losing it? Not yet. But check back at the end of the exhibition season, when McMillan has to evaluate all the different combinations and make it work with all the different personalities, all the different agendas and all the different styles of this roster. Right now, McMillan is not letting on to the stress of assembling this puzzle. "It's what's best for the team, simple as that," McMillan said Tuesday morning before Miller and Oden keyed a 98-86 win over Sacramento in the exhibition opener for both teams. Nobody seems willing to believe that McMillan will use a starting lineup of Blake, Roy, Batum, Aldridge and Przybilla. But as McMillan has said since he arrived in Portland five years ago, the starting lineup doesn't matter. The grouping of players is what matters. He wants each unit to have a balance of offense and defense. And he wants each unit to be multi-faceted. That's why he loves the idea of Miller, Fernandez, Webster, Outlaw and Oden coming off the bench. "I do see something in that unit," McMillan said. "I think that can be a unit that is very difficult to defend and play against -- whether it's the first or second. There is a balance there -- we can run pick and rolls, we can run post-ups, we can run turn-outs, we can trap ... we can do the same thing with this unit as we can with that unit. So there's a balance." The question, of course, is whether the players will buy into it. Oden has made it clear he wants to start. And team star Roy, who carries the most weight in the locker room, said Tuesday night that Oden has been playing so well in practices that "it's going to be hard to keep Greg out of the starting lineup." And then Roy brought up the delicate subject that usually goes unspoken. Oden, being Oden, almost has to start. "It's the NBA," Roy said. "It's you know, marketing. He's our No. 1 pick. The pillar of the franchise. I just think all of that plays into it." Oden, who is 14 pounds lighter than he was last season, has been drawing rave reviews from teammates and coaches. His feet are quicker. His mind is free of pressures. His lungs and legs can endure more, for longer stretches. And his offensive repertoire has expanded. All of that was on display Tuesday night, when Oden had 18 points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes. That brings us to Miller, the steady, heady and proven point guard. He too has said he intends to start, and the common refrain around the league is how can you sign a guy for $7 million a season and bring him off the bench? For starters, McMillan said he was as blunt as he could be when the team recruited Miller during a Las Vegas dinner this summer. He told him then that he envisioned Miller coming off the bench, running pick and rolls with Oden and funneling fast-break passes to Fernandez and Webster streaking on the wings. "The one thing is, I don't (mess) around with you in the summer," McMillan said, becoming stern. "When I tell you something, that is what I'm thinking. So when I told Andre that he was coming off the bench, I was for real. Now, he said he wanted to start, and I understand that. And there is a chance he could. I'm not saying we won't go there." Miller, meanwhile, doesn't want the conversation to go there right now. He said he remembers what was said in the Las Vegas dinner, but added "that was in the past." And the present? "I'm not going to get all into that right now," Miller said before the game. “Both units can do both things — both units can go halfcourt, both units can run. So I don’t want to make a big deal out of it, it’s just basketball. ” He did his talking a little later, when he was the most impressive player on the court Tuesday night. He had 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting and had five assists (three turnovers). But any one of the 17,682 could tell you that Miller did so much more than his statistics line says. So here we are, one exhibition game into it, and already there’s added fuel to an already raging debate. Which five players fit best? And do the remaining five players create a cohesive unit? McMillan will get his second look tonight, in Sacramento. “With the starters — it’s conversation for people, and that’s good,” McMillan said. “But when you are really in here at practices, it’s like fitting pieces together. And you have to see it before you can make decisions. I mean, it may not look good tonight. But eventually, it will happen. It will play out. And I will have a starting lineup on the 27th and a unit that comes off the bench. “Will it stay that way for the whole season?” McMillan said, a smile creasing his face. “I would not sit here and say that.” http://tinyurl.com/y9d7yf2 -- "臭臉奈特的煩惱" 在簽約 Miller 之前的餐敘時，Rank A 就跟A米說想把他放替補 讓他跟 Oden 等替補一起從板凳(提供不間斷火力??) (謎之聲：Nate 竟然這麼早就想讓老歐繼續打替補) 結果 Oden 日前表達想先發的企圖 Roy 也說老歐可是狀元耶，可是選來當franchise player的(是這意思嗎?) Miller 也表達想先發的傾向(這下難喬了吧..) 看來某人的假先發偽替補計劃要讓球員心甘情願還很拼啊 不過最實際的是繼續看下去接下來的比賽吧 若是 Oden 和 Miller 繼續有好表現那就更有得爭了 --

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