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BlazerFan1
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Post subject: Blazers 98, Kings 86 in First Preseason Game 2009
 Posted: Oct 07, 2009 - 09:23 AM PST
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Andre Miller with a great start!
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The patience of Trail Blazers fans has been tried a lot lately. They’ve been waiting for an impact free agent. Waiting for a dominant Greg Oden. Waiting for a healthy Martell Webster. On Tuesday night, that patience was rewarded with a 98-86 preseason victory against the Sacramento Kings at the Rose Garden. It wasn’t always pretty and it was an only exhibition, but for the first time in recent memory, Trail Blazers fans got to see nearly everything they had been waiting for.
In Andre Miller, fans finally saw how the presence of a ten-year veteran can change the complexion of a young team. Coming off the bench, Miller, the first “big name” free agent signing of General Manager Kevin Pritchard’s tenure, displayed an array of crafty moves on both ends of the floor. From finding LaMarcus Aldridge beating his man down the court for an uncontested layup to hitting turnaround jumpers from the baseline post, Miller controlled tempo while showing flashes of the old school point guard play that he’s built his career on.
“I never had a problem playing in any situation as far as up-tempo or half-court offense,” said Miller, who finished with 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting to go along with five assists. “I think I can adjust to either game and it’s good when you have some guys in the post that can get the ball and score the ball, it makes my job a little easier.”
While fans got their first official look at Miller, some might have been asking themselves if Tuesday’s game was the first time they had seen the real Greg Oden.
“He got deep post position, scored – did some good things,” said Nate McMillan. “He looked pretty good out there. We were able to get him the ball and allow him to make some decisions. I thought he had a pretty good game.
Oden, who put up 18 points and nine rebounds, displayed the quickness and raw athleticism the Portland front office knew he possessed when they drafted him with the first overall pick in 2007. But Oden showcased more than just physical gifts against the Kings, as the spin moves, face-up jumpers and baby hooks he’s worked on over and over again during the offseason were on display against the likes of Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson and Jon Brockman.
“It’s good (to play well in the first game),” said Oden. “It helps with my confidence this year to have a really good first game, and we’ll try to keep it going.”
Martell Webster, playing extended minutes for the first time since last year’s preseason, was admittedly nervous.
“It’s all a mental game,” said Webster, “especially after coming off an injury. Trying to get (the injury) out of your mind is something you have to work on.”
A foot injury that kept Webster on the sidelines for all but five minutes of the 2008-09 season was in the back of his mind as he entered the game at the 5:25 mark in the first quarter to a extended ovation from the Rose Garden crowd, but after a few times up and down the court, Webster seemed to find a rhythm that was more important than the six points and two rebounds he ended the night with.
From Miller’s abilities to Oden’s improvement to Webster’s jumper, fans might have seen the things they wanted to see on Tuesday night, but Coach McMillan will be looking for more when the Trail Blazers return to the court Wednesday night for another game against the Kings, this time in Sacramento.
““That was a great film for us to teach from,” said McMillan. “We needed that game to look at ourselves and to see where we are at. We have a lot of work ahead of us. One good thing was that we got to the free throw line 46 times, but other than that we’ve got some work. They beat us to the ball, offensive rebounding, we didn’t react as quickly as we needed to. We forced them to miss, but 16 offensive boards – and that’s been an emphasis during this training camp.” |
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