The problem with miller is...........
......he is screwing over this team without knowing it....
Now I am not discrediting him in anyway or form. He is a solid PG, and he has unforgettably saved us a few times this sesaon. And even though he turned the ball over today in a horrendous effort tonight in the nuggets loss to Memphis, he was probably the only player really keeping us in the game late (where were you ty.....)
But, his inclusion in this team is.... IS really screwing over the team.
- Karl overplays miller. It's just so painfully obvious. I'm not going to have a huge rant about 'firing george karl'. He's a great coach (winningest active coach), I'll give him that. But i just don't see how karl cannot see from the bench how miller effects this team when he plays. It is like he is the kryptonite for this teams offense.
Examples of how Miller disrupts this team.
- He reduces the speed of the play to how he feels comfortable. In order for miller to play to his advantage, he needs to dominate the ball in a slow half-court style. He likes to post up, make flashy alley-oop passes, and consistently looks for Big Al above anyone else, (big al btw has been playing great). But this is DENVER BASKETBALL. We are the fastest, and highest scoring team in the NBA. Subbing miller on reduces our team's momentum drastically, and if miller isn't hitting shots, then we end up just giving up the ball.
- Ty lawson shouldn't have to defer the ball. I can't think of any other young up coming player on any team in the NBA who is dealing with this rite now. Andre Miller has stunted the growth of ty lawson. Whether it is Ty lawson's fault for being too dismissal, or miller being too greedy for the ball, Ty is simply deffering the ball to miller. This is bad. There shouldn't be a reason for ty lawson to give the ball to another player to run the point, especially in crunch time, unless there was another starting PG on the team... which there is. which leads me to another point.
- Karl just loves those 2 PG lineup. and there is a reason why no-ther teams in the NBA are playing 2 PG's in the line-up for long stretches. It's because it just doesn't work, especially in our situation.
Over and over again we have seen this happen when miller and lawson are on the court together.
If miller is running the Point, and lawson is at the 2. You have a selfish Miller who either passes it to Al, or goes for the basket, who so far has been very inconsistent as a scorer. Then you have a 5-11 lawson, who isn't neccasarily a spot up shooter, running at the 2 spot. It isn't great offensively, especially when miller is running in half court mode, but on the fast break playing two PG usually works quite well. But again, when it's miller's turn to run the ball up, it's slowwwww half-court offence time.
If Lawson is running the point, not so bad because lawson is 'finally' looking to make plays and looking to find someone. Only you then have A. Miller playing the 2 spot, who definately isn't a spot up shooter, but works well in the post which proves occasionally to work. But realistically you would want a taller guard, who could shoot 'and' post up, rather than an undersized limited offensive player playing the two.
On defense, this is where the 2 PG line up is killing us. Ty lawson is a capable defender, but he is only 5-11, meaning he shouldn't really be guarding the 2, and definately not the 3. Miller, as we have all witnessed, is not a great defender, and can be seen as quite lazy on rotations. Defensively this combo has been so bad, that it is as if we are really playing 4 v 5. It is hurting this team that badly. I don't think the 2 PG line up is bad in small stretches, especaily if the tempo is up. But closing games? We are giving up all kinds of defense and offensive consistency. Karl needs to see this... but he never will
Again, it is not A. Millers fault. It is just how it is. it is not his fault he is being over used on this denver team. He is a good player, as we all know. But he does not fit with this team. His inclusion is hurting us more than it is helping. Sure he won us the philly game, but how many games has his inclusion on this roster lost us. He is most definitely hurting Lawson's leadership potential, and he needs to go.
A trade would be a nice easy option to solve this dilema, but his expiring contract would be helpful for next year as ty lawson looks to sign his extension (hopefully he shows us he deserves it). I think the best thing we can do is hold onto him until the end of the year, where he should be let go. Nuggets need to find a true backup point guard for ty lawson, one who will not demand the ball and hinder Ty's development.
- Nuggetblood
