The New Guys Appreciation Thread

[dlts20]

1st off let me say that I have always been a big Mike Miller fan but when we made the trade, I was thinking way more about Foye than Miller. Im making this thread though because I had the Mavs game on DVR and didnt watch most of it live, and have only skimmed through it until now. Tonight I just watched pretty much the whole game. I wanted to see how Miller played in particular because I heard alot of people single him out and say some good things about him. I have always appreciated his game & attitude. I have always thought that he was way more complete than people give him credit for and he would be the perfect starting 2 for us.

Then I watched the game and now I have changed my mind. No, its not what you think. I have now changed my mind into thinking that he is the greatest thing since slice bread. I cant remember the last time Ive seen a player like him in a Wiz uniform. He didnt even play that much against the Mavs and to me it was like he scored 40 while registering a triple double. Thats how impressive he was to me in that short amount of time. 1st off, alot of people including myself thought that he could play the 2 but is probably much more of a 3 at this point of his career with his age & size. That still may well be the case but dude was super quick out there. He can easily play the 2 after what I saw and can easily keep up with most SG's in the league. He looked very fast and thats even more impressive to me because you can be fast as a big guy but look slow. He looks fast so when you combine that with his size, he must be moving real fast.

What made me so excited was the fact that if you name it, he did it. Literaly. He was all over the place. If you rewatch the game like me and watch him play for play, he stood out like something you rarely see. On D he closed out on a shooter so well and tried to jump out the gym to put a hand in his face. It was very enthusiastic. I always thought that he would be a burden on D but if you combine his energy with his size then I think he can be very good, espicaly in a zone. He says that he's a slow white boy but I dont buy it at all. Then there were a bunch of times when people would shoot and he would be around the 3pt line on D but he would take off to the rim and come through everyone to get the board. Ive never seen us have someone do that. It was like Dom with more skill. It seemed like he made the right decision every time and despite being an elite shooter, he never settles. If the drive is there or if you close out to fast then he will blow right by you. The #1 problem the Minny fans had with him is that he would pass up open shots all the time and put the ball on the floor to drive and make a play for someone else. I dont think he will always do that here but even if he does, its fine because we have scorers at every spot. He's a great playmaker. His handles were also great as he went through his legs with ease.

His vision was awesome as he always had his head up and can throw a crisp pass right on target. The #1 thing that stood out to me was his effort. Dude has been in the league forever, is a vet on his 4th team, he's playing in the Preseason and didnt even get into the game until the 2nd half, but I swear he was playing like it was game 7 of the Finals. Thats KG type stuff. I actually came away with a 50/50 thought. Honestly, he was so good that I started to think that he needs to start and play 30mpg. I started thinking that if we did that then we would be super hard to beat the way he plays. Then I started thinking that he was the 1st guy in a long time that we probably could truly count on game in & game out if he came off the bench. If you saw the way he played then you know that he can bring that engergy & skill level every game off the bench and that would make us trouble for teams. You add that to the fact that it allows us to put a vet on the bench instead of having 3 young guys in Foye, NY, and Blatche. It also allows us to put a playmaker beside Foye who definatly isnt a true PG. I think Foye will look 10x better if Miller is beside him on the 2nd unit instead of NY.

The bottom line is Miller was the real deal and you have to watch him closely. I beleive he can put us over the top in the East and will be great down the stretch in games with his rebounding ability, shooting skills beside Gil, and playmaking skills when we need Gil to score. We all know that he's a junky who just eats & sleep basketball. How can you go wrong with that? Thats an awesome pickup. His career numbers are great and I see why now with him being up close & personal. He's the real deal. Dont sleep on this move. This trade is looking better & better to me because I think Foye will show up soon enough. We are going to be a problem for the big 3 in the East to deal with

[20MexicanosIn1Van]

I agree completely.

Only thing that could make me like him more is if he got a haircut.

[DaRealHibachi]

Great post dlts20!

I really started liking him when he made that hustle play in training camp where he dove for a ball going out of bounds... It's cool that he shoots 40% from downtown, which we really need... But he also is a great playmaker and rebounder...

I hope that Flip will put him on the bench with Foye, Blatche and McGee... We'd have one of the best benches in the League...

[Ruzious]

Abbott: Who does he play like?
Costello: Hedo.
Abbott: I'm asking you - Who?
Costello: Hedo.
Abbott: Who's his name?
Yada yada.

He's got the kind of skillset of someone who was born playing basketball for someone like Larry Brown. And with Caron down to 215 lbs, we need a versatile player with his size.

[LyricalRico]

How many years have I been wanting Mike Miller? He's the perfect fill-in guy. He can pretty much fit in with whatever team he's on and provide the missing piece. On this team, we need a guy to facilitate and rebound. He's a guy who can do that.

I've been saying since the trade that Miller would have bigger impact than Foye. Folks who thought he'd be let go at the end of the year may want to re-think that.

[pancakes3]

ahem... allow me to borrow one from the book of Dennis Green...

he is who we thought he was. we played him in the preseason and who takes the third game of preseason and treats it like the damn ECF. But still he is who we thought he is... and if you all want to crown him, then crown his ass.

translate: we all know he's a hustle player with a great all-around game especially rebounding. he obviously can play sg because he did play sg. if another NBA quality coach saw fit to play him at SG, then obviously he has sg skills. the caveat is that it's preseason, his play might not translate as well to the regular season or, god willing, the postseason. he's still good, i love the hustle, but let's not crown him just yet. an appreciation thread over a tivo'd preseason game? i need a better reason.

*disclaimer, i too think MM should start at SG. NY and Foye makes the 2nd unit backcourt. Dom, Blatche, McGee backs up the frontcourt. Critter, James, etc. don't see the light of day.

[closg00]

Love what I've seen, can't wait for him to start hitting his shot.

[MJG]

Whether or not Miller starts - and you get the feeling he isn't going to - he needs to be finishing games. He's smart and versatile, and looks like he should be our quasi-point when Arenas is out of the game. Definitely a great acquisition.

[cold5]

So I just drafted Mike Miller in the last round of the Suns board fantasy draft and I think he could be a steal. So am I right? I know he will give me a ton of threes, but will he average more than 10 points a game and will he get good minutes with you guys? Thanks in advance.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Whether or not Miller starts - and you get the feeling he isn't going to - he needs to be finishing games. He's smart and versatile, and looks like he should be our quasi-point when Arenas is out of the game. Definitely a great acquisition.

That is exactly right. Forget about the starting five... the finishing five will be Arenas, Miller, Butler, Jamison and Haywood.

Watching the game in Richmond, I noticed all the little things... the way he comes around screens, the way he passes to the correct hand to his post players... spacing, all of it. He gets it.

There might be games when he doesn't enter until midway through the third... but, he'll be there in the end.

[dlts20]

This was the Mike Miller Appreciation thread. I was going to make a new one for Foye and I also felt that I liked Oberto and may soon make one about him so I just said forget that, Ill change the Mike Miller thread to the New guys thread.

1st off let me get to Oberto. Seriously, I always thought he was solid on the Spurs but I still just looked at him the same way I do Matt Bonner and wonder how are the Spurs the only team in history to win consistently with these kind of guys. Now that he's here, I can see why they won and I can see why the Spurs wanted him back. His D is awesome and I love how he can cover the 4 & the 5 equally well. He's probably the best passing pure big in the league. By pure big I mean, not athletic guys like KG and whatever. He's also just a flat out smart player. I think thats the biggest difference in us being so good right now. We have super smart guys on the floor like him, Miller, DS and so on instead of the young guys who are still learning. One reason why a ton of people were upset with the trade is because we kept DS instead of Songaila but right now DS is playing great again and is the perfect vet to have off the bench while Oberto gives us way more than Darius ever could and Im a huge Darius fan. We now have a guy who can really play the 5, has the height, and has all the smarts that Darius has. He cant score but we have a million guys to do that so his passing actually fits better because it helps other guys get more shots and stay happy.

Now lets get to Foye. Has this guy been the real deal or what? Ive seen threads from other teams talking about how he is by far the best backup PG in the leauge. Remember when alot of our fans didnt like the way he was playing and wanted to trade him for guys who I thought he was much better than? I also argued that Gil would play 36-38mpg so Foye would only be the PG for 10-12mpg and would dominate at the 2 the rest of the time. Well I was right as Gil did play 38 in both games and sat out the 4th in the blowout but whats really crazy is that at the PG, Foye looks totally different than he did 2 weeks ago. He's now looking almost like a true PG who can score. He's running the team great now. 15 & 5 while shooting nearly 48%? Thats beast stuff. Its going to go down some when we get fully healthy but if he keeps running the point like that then we will be deadly on both units. His combination of speed & power is crazy and he gives us that Larry Hughes effect with Gil without being a scrub like Hughes.

The craziest thing is what I said about Gil playing 36-38min at the point. Foye has grown so much that when they are on the floor together, he's playing the point just as much as Gil, if not more. Its great because it takes pressure off Gil and allows him to rest some while also lets him go in to straight scorers mode at the 2. That is the deadliest backcourt in the league right now when theyre on the floor together. Add that to the fact that Miller is still looking like a beast of an all around player and I still say that he will look like even more of a true beast when AJ gets back. Then he will be wide open all day since teams know that Oberto isnt going to shoot. 3 great pickups but foreal, you have to admit that you are shocked right now how Foye has flipped the switch as a pure PG. He hasnt done it long enough to be sold on it but right now he looks good. Again, Im not talking about scoring. Thats going to be there easily but just as a pure PG he's looked very good since the start of the season

[pancakes3]

contentious:
LH wasn't a scrub. He was tantalizingly mediocre. He was the Andre Blatche of the backcourt. He would play spectacularly if he played within himself but also consistently blow fast break opportunities by Lebron-ing it to the rim instead of finding JJ or Hayes as the trailer. Too bad the bulb didn't click on for him like it apparently has for Dre. He could have been crawford-esque.

Gil/Foye is the best backcourt in the league. Rondo/Ray, nelson/carter, bibby/johnson, and parker/ginobili are better backcourts. they're also deeper backcourts. Miller has been good but i definitely don't see him as much of a sg. he can't create, he can't defend that well, and he's passive. definitely more of a SF, though there's nothing wrong with his game. i love his game. i just don't see it meshing well with forcing him into a SG role especially with either butler/jamison at the 3 spot.

[dlts20]

contentious:
LH wasn't a scrub. He was tantalizingly mediocre. He was the Andre Blatche of the backcourt. He would play spectacularly if he played within himself but also consistently blow fast break opportunities by Lebron-ing it to the rim instead of finding JJ or Hayes as the trailer. Too bad the bulb didn't click on for him like it apparently has for Dre. He could have been crawford-esque.

Gil/Foye is the best backcourt in the league. Rondo/Ray, nelson/carter, bibby/johnson, and parker/ginobili are better backcourts. they're also deeper backcourts. Miller has been good but i definitely don't see him as much of a sg. he can't create, he can't defend that well, and he's passive. definitely more of a SF, though there's nothing wrong with his game. i love his game. i just don't see it meshing well with forcing him into a SG role especially with either butler/jamison at the 3 spot.

When I was talking about Hughes, I was talking about the guy after he left the Wiz who everyone wanted back for some reason. I couldnt beleive why so many wanted him back so bad when he's been straight garbage. He's a ball hog and he would never except being the 4th option or lower on this team. With the Wiz he was good until he got that last injury. When he came back from that he was a totally different guy. Before then he had a sweet J and loved to pass. When he came back he was a straight hog who thought it was his team and he couldnt make jack.

As for the backcourts, I really meant it as a starter with the backup PG who can move to the 2. I wasnt thinking about comparing it straight up to the guys you named but since you did that, I actually think they still might be the best. I think Gil is better than every single guy you named and Foye holds his own with the other guy. The only group that may could be better is the Parker-Ginobli but I still dont think it is, espicaly at this stage. I think people underrate Foye and really underrate Gil. Also, about Foye. Remember, Im speaking of them 2 strictly in the backcourt together. You cant just look at it as 2 individual players or whatever. Im saying when he & Gil are on the floor together. Thats how you have to look at it.

As for Miller, I totally disagree. You can debate wether he's more of a 2 or 3 but you cant debate wether he can play the 2 or not. He can easily play there and be great. Did you just say that he cant create? Have you seen him play? Thats the #1 thing the Wiz & even Minny fans say about him. He's a great creator. The problem is that he's done it too much but thats not a bad thing on our team because we have so many scorers. The guy lead all guards in rebounding last year and is averaging 10 per game this year. He's a dead eye shooter, a money passer, handles like a guard, is smart, and is all hussle. How can you knock that? Again, he's reluctant to shoot now but I bet anything when AJ gets back, he wont be because he will be open alot more than he is now. Thats when our O will be unstoppable

[fishercob]

We need a name for Fab-O's signature move -- the one where in lieu of a handoff, he drops the ball backwards between his legs, thereby simultaneously screening the defender of the pass's recipient.

Anyone?

[dlts20]

We need a name for Fab-O's signature move -- the one where in lieu of a handoff, he drops the ball backwards between his legs, thereby simultaneously screening the defender of the pass's recipient.

Anyone?

yeah, he does that on the regular. Thats a beast move. Its a great pass and the screen creats an open shot. Definatly cant be mad at that

[dobrojim]

We need a name for Fab-O's signature move -- the one where in lieu of a handoff, he drops the ball backwards between his legs, thereby simultaneously screening the defender of the pass's recipient.

Anyone?

love it to Gil (nice play v NJ) and can't wait to see it to our other
shooters, Foye being one example.

getting back to the title of the thread -

best off-season ever

[go'stags]

He has made that pass 3 times by my count, once in the pre-season to Miller I believe, then in the season to Caron and Gil.

The amazing thing about it is that its always perfectly placed, where the shooter can just catch it and go up comfortably. Thats why the shot is always made off that pass.

[Rafael122]

Mike Miller is my new favorite player. The guy played through what is most likely a separated shoulder.

[LyricalRico]

^ Yeah, majorly gusty. I just hope he didn't cost himself more time out by playing with it.

[Halcyon]

Newfound respect for Mike Miller. Tough, smart basketball player and can make 3s. Hopefully we are blessed with a miracle and our training staff doesn't get a chance to look at him.