So the new Blazer PG just hit town and everyone already has an opinion about his impact on the team one way or the other.  Some think his veteran leadership will help to blend this talented young team into title contenders, others wonder why use the cap room on an aging vet rather than go after a younger guy like Sessions, or Hinrich?  While many cannot agree on these issues as well as who will be the starter, Miller or Blake? and who will be the one to tell Bayless that rather than 20+ as a back-up he should expect his usual 7 minutes of mop-up?... one issue clearly stands alone:  Andre Miller shoots 20% from beyond the three point stripe.  That's right, it's not a typo... Andre Miller shoots 20% from deep.

  Hasn't this guy been in the league for 10+ years?  Don't  the Cavs, Clippers, or Sixers have room in their budgets to mix in a couple of shooting coaches?  What's the deal?

  Well, the answer is quite simple really:  Andre Miller does not make a lot of three pointers because Andre Miller does not shoot a lot of three pointers.  His game is best described as following the path of least resistance.  At some point growing up he must have determined that 23 feet was a long way from the basket, maybe too far.  There's a lot of luck involved in hitting from out there and rather than leaving it up to chance, how about getting a little closer instead?  How about letting the "shooting guard" take that shot and focus on getting him the ball in the right spot at the right time?  Miller never wanted to jack up shots from the parking lot, but instead he has focused on getting the ball to the guys who did:

Career Games:______815

Points Per Game____14.6

Assists Per Game____7.5

3pt FGs Attempted___561 (.69/gm)

3pt FGs Converted___118 (.15/gm)

2pt FGs Attempted__8,980 (11/gm)

2pt FGs Converted__4,270 (5.25/gm)

FTs Attempted_____3,742 (4.6/gm)

FTs Converted_____3,002 (3.7/gm)

  .69 three pointers attempted per game for his career!?  That's fewer jacks than Allen Iverson averages on his way to the arena!  The man just does not take a lot of threes whatsoever.  His game relies on a mid-range jumper, floaters in the lane as well as a old-school way about him when he makes his way to the rim.  He's the kind of guy who looks not one, but two steps slower than the player who is defending him, yet he always seems get where he wants to go.  Add in above average court vision and one of the best lob-passes in the game today along with a knack for drawing contact (4.5 FTs/gm) and you have a top-tier PG in the NBA.  Put all of this together and you come to realize why he is a career 15 point and 7.5 assist per game PG in this league while making less three pointers per week than Andrei Kirilenko, Luke Walton and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

  Obviously the fret is that most defenses will simply sag off of him and focus on clogging up the paint, but don't for a second think that Miller doesn't have an answer for this strategy.  He has been seeing this line of defense since back in his college days at Utah.  He will "Roy" his way into the paint and flip a soft floater up and over the outstretched arms of a defender, he will drive to the basket for the bucket and some harm, or maybe even just do what he is payed to do:  Get the ball to the open man.  Oden, LMA and Nic should all see their oop-dunks double or even triple this season simply because Miller has a knack for delivering the correct pass at the correct moment to the correct player.  With the number of young athletes on this Blazer's squad he'll likely be sleeping very well over the next few months and dreaming of sugar plums and spalding logos being embedded into K*be's face.

  I am not sold on him being a savior of the backcourt and his defense (or lack-there-of) is a topic for another day, all I'm sayin is this 20% number can be misleading without perspective.  It takes two weeks for Andre Miller to shoot as many threes as Blake and Sergio did in a single game last season.  Miss, or make, it's not like the guy will be shooting the Blazers out of Ws next year.  He will leave that up to the teamates who he's passing the ball to...the one's who have always liked that shot from the parking lot.

  Summer classes are just now ending and the students are filtering back into town and getting ready for the upcoming school year.   It's Friday night and Jerryd Bayless, who is about to enter his junior year in college, is dressed to impress and out on the prowl.  He has been practicing his smile in the mirror all summer long and thinks that he is ready to win-over a few fans.  While his buddies were vacationing in Cabo he was at home honing his skills and prepping his game.  Tonight is going to be the night that Jerryd makes it happen.

  He makes his way over to a friends off-campus house party and is ready to get into the action.  He just needs one shot at the big time and he knows that he can be productive.

Blondie at 9' O'clock, he moves up slowly, weaving through traffic and making his way towards the goal.

"Hey there"  he says as he finally reaches her side, "I'm Jerryd, I play basketball, what's your name hot stuff?"

"Heather, and I hate basketball"  she replies before turning a cold shoulder

Denied at the rim, he turns away towards the crowd, looking for another chance to score.  Nobody will stop Jerryd tonight, he thinks to himself, it's my time to show what I can do.

  Brunette at 4 O'clock, he makes his way towards the bar area.  She is taller and a little larger than the other girls and he wonders to himself whether or not she could D him up. 

"Hey baby, your lookin fine, " he says while flashing his game-winning smile, "Have you ever been crossed over?"

"I ain't your baby and I only date men with normal sized arms" she says before turning and boxing out the nearest plate of chicken wings.

Damn, Jerryd is 0 for 2 and is starting to get mad.  These opponents are a lot tougher than I thought they would be.  He is angry, but not discouraged.  He will not stop fighting till the game is over and he is holding the trophy above his head.

Redhead at 2 O'Clock.  She looks like someone that he can shoot over and he likes his chances as he sizes up her defensive stance.

"Hey hot stuff," he says with a devilish look in his eyes "I was lookin at you from over there and I'm likin what I see.  How come you're over here all by yourself in the corner babe?"

"Oh yeah?... you like what you see, do ya?" she responds in a sarcastic tone, "well, maybe you should get your vision checked buddy cuz I am not alone.  This here is my boyfriend Hal, the defensive lineman and this is his friend Ox the local MMA champ."

Double teamed and dejected, Jerryd moves away as quick as he can.   Backpedaling, he makes his way to the other side of the room and tries to spot friendly faces in the crowd.  Ten minutes go by and still no luck, he decides to go upstairs to check out the scene on the balcony.

11 O'clock, Jerryd spies a beautiful black haired woman who looks vaguely familiar.  He moves closer to her and sees that it's Connie from his accounting class, the one that his roommate Greg has a crush on.

"Hey Connie, how are you tonight?" he says before taking a sip from his lemonade.  "What are you doing up here all by yourself?"

"Oh, hey Jerryd!!!" Connie says with a huge smile on her face.  "It's so good to see someone that I know! I was afraid that I would be all alone tonight.  I just hate to be alone."

BINGO!  Jerryd has a clean look at the cup and suddenly wonders if Connie knows how to handle the pill.  He takes a deep breath, gathering his thoughts, wondering how exactly he is going to do this, but knowing that his game is tight and that he will be the one to make it happen, because he is the one, he can do it and nobody can stop Jerryd Bay ...

"Hey guys, what's up?" a deep male voice from behind suddenly breaks his thoughts.  "I hope I am not interrupting anything, what are you kids up to?"

Jerryd's roommate Greg has finally made his appearance and his timing could not have been worse.  Jerryd was just about to make it happen, this was Jerryd's time.  He thought he had a clean look, but now all of a sudden his teammate is out on the break with him.

"Jerryd was just about to keep me company"  Connie says as she looks Jerryd deep in the eyes. "Weren't you hun?"

dilemmas, dilemmas... should he pass?...should he defer to the man with the easier shot at the goal?...Set up his teammate for the score?...or should he force his way to the bucket and dunk it, or draw the foul?...

... think, Jerryd, think!... what to do, Think Jerryd, (am I thinking too much?)...what to do.... pass? shoot? drive?...what to do... think Jerryd.....what.... to..... do.....?

"By the way Jerryd,"  Greg says in a deep voice, "If anybody asks, you were never here"