When Andre Miller makes his return to the Rose Garden on Dec. 29, Blazers fans will no doubt greet him with cheers — as well they should.
For two years, Miller dazzled onlookers with both his skills and his mind, serving as the “glue guy” while Portland endured a host of injuries.
But in terms of pure entertainment value, there is one complaint fans could file: When Miller made a great play, you couldn’t tell if it was live or the slow-motion instant replay.
Enter Raymond Felton.
The Blazers acquired the 27-year-old point guard from Denver for Miller on draft day last June. Whether the trade was an upgrade, downgrade or lateral move remains to be seen. But one expectation is clear: With Felton, the Blazers will become blazin’ fast.
“You have to be ready for the ball now, when you cross half court, the ball could be coming your way,” Blazers guard Wesley Matthews said when asked about adjusting to Felton’s style of play. “With Raymond, we’re playing a whole different style … it’s about running consistently.”
Well, maybe it is.
Few franchises in professional sports demonstrate the gap between expectation and reality better than Portland. And perhaps this hope for a more uptempo offense will, too, fail to come to fruition.
After all, since Nate McMillan stepped in as the head coach in 2005, the Blazers have ranked either last or second-to-last in the NBA in possessions per game.
However, Portland has also shown an ability to adapt to its circumstances, and this year’s lineup appears to be one suited for the fast-break.
Few forwards in the league can stay with Gerald Wallace or LaMarcus Aldridge in the open court, and Nicolas Batum and Matthews both thrive in a running offense. No wonder Felton thrilled the crowd during Fan Fest two Fridays ago when he took the mic and bellowed “we’re going to get out and run.”
But will McMillan be willing to break tradition?
Well, using his famous catchphrase — we’ll see.
Part of the reason the pace of play was so slow in years past was because Portland would isolate Brandon Roy while the shot clock ticked down, letting the three-time All-Star work his opponent one-on-one. Of course, that option no longer exists, and it appears McMillan might just be open to a new brand of offense.
“You let your point guard dictate your tempo,” McMillan said. “And Raymond moves.”
That he does. Last year, Felton put up career numbers, averaging 15.5 points and 8.3 assists per game, both of which were personal bests. Granted, part of that was because he quarterbacked Mike D’Anotni’s anomalously high-paced tempo with the Knicks, but Felton still proved he could effectively engineer a run-and-gun offense.
But let’s face it, the word “anomalous” can very aptly be applied to this season, too. Teams are trying to compress 66 games into 123 days in which they will be forced to play three nights in a row on at least one occasion.
Can a team so used to milking every second of the shot clock completely rework its pace given the circumstances?
We’re about to find out. And win or lose, one would be hard-pressed to argue that this year’s Blazers will be boring.
