Head-to-Head (Blake v. Miller)

by blazer91 on Jul 28, 2009 2:10 PM PDT

I wanted to do a comparison of games where Blake and Miller started against one another, to get an idea of the upgrade Portland may be getting in our starting PG (which I assume will be Miller). This is to say nothing of the upgrade we are getting by Blake now being one of the best backups in the league, and head and shoulders above the Sergio/Bayless combo. Here's the breakdown of games they played opposite each other as starters.

The trend, to the extent one is ascertainable from such a small sample, is that Miller's team "won" the matchup in all but one game. And, in the one loss, it arguably had little to do with Miller, who outassisted Blake 11-2 and was basically even in other key categories.

It also shows the strengths that Miller has over Blake...namely, he outscores him, outassists him, outrebounds him, and gets to the line more often. In short, everything but three point attempts favors Miller. But, that's not MIller's game, nor does he try to force it to be, which is why his effective field goal percentage is so ridiculously high.In seven games, Miller put up TWO three pointers, and made one. In other words, he knows his game and he plays his game...and in the matchups against Blake, his team won all but one.

KEY STATS:

Miller had 110 points to Blake's 67

Miller had 41 assists to Blake's 30

MIller had 31 rebounds to Blake's 15

Miller had 28 FT attempts to Blake's 5.

Head to head boxes (sorry for poor formatting) after the jump

March 23, 2009 at Portland; Philly won 114-108 (Miller scored go-ahead basket in OT)

STARTERS

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

Steve Blake, PG

9-20

3-12

1-2

-6

Andre Miller, PG

9-20

0-0

9-11

+5

Jan. 14, 2009 at Philly; Philly won 100-79

STARTERS

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

+/-

PTS

Steve Blake, PG

2-5

1-3

0-0

-14

Andre Miller, PG

5-11

1-1

1-1

+9

December 30, 2007 at Portland; Portland won 97-72

STARTERS

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PTS

Steve Blake, PG

4-7

3-5

0-0

Andre Miller, PG

8-19

0-0

1-1

November 16, 2007 at Philly; Philly won 92-88

STARTERS

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PTS

Steve Blake, PG

2-6

1-3

1-2

Andre Miller, PG

6-11

0-1

1-2

April 10, 2006 at Portland; Denver won 110-98

STARTERS

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PTS

Steve Blake, PG

2-6

2-3

0-0

Andre Miller, PG

5-7

0-0

0-0

February 4, 2006 at Portland; Denver won 105-104 (Miller steals with 4 seconds left and makes game winner)

STARTERS

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PTS

Steve Blake, PG

4-7

1-2

1-1

Andre Miller, PG

4-10

0-0

2-7

January 25, 2006 at Portland; Denver won 97-94

STARTERS

MIN

FGM-A

3PM-A

FTM-A

OREB

DREB

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

PTS

Steve Blake, PG

3-8

1-4

0-0

Andre Miller, PG

8-16

0-0

5-6

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Comments

Why is this relevant, exactly?

"Ain't nothin' in this world for free."

by Arby on Jul 28, 2009 2:23 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

If you can't figure it out

I sure can’t explain it to you.

Kermit on the inbounds play, inbounds....
BATES at the horn, HE SCORES!! HE SCORES!!!!

And they are all over Billy Ray Bates! My, oh my!!!

by blazer91 on Jul 28, 2009 2:25 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

But mostly, I was just curious

And thought it was interesting, since the Blake vs. Miller question will probably be the most interesting starter vs. reserve debate we have this year, assuming Martell is healthy and starting at the 3.

Kermit on the inbounds play, inbounds....
BATES at the horn, HE SCORES!! HE SCORES!!!!

And they are all over Billy Ray Bates! My, oh my!!!

by blazer91 on Jul 28, 2009 2:28 PM PDT up reply actions

They're never going to be playing against each other.

We already know Miller is a better player. This just seems redundant to me.

"Ain't nothin' in this world for free."

by Arby on Jul 28, 2009 2:28 PM PDT up reply actions

It's nice to have numbers to confirm something that you know, and give it more details.

Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.

by pualo on Jul 28, 2009 2:35 PM PDT up reply actions

I was at that last game against Philly..

and I remember thinking, why the heck can’t Portland beat the sixers?? Apparently Andre Miller was factor in those games. I don’t care if he starts or not, he’s obviously the better player. I just want him to play with Greg a lot and a good 3 pt shooter like Martell or Rudy or both!!!

by jenstcy on Jul 28, 2009 2:32 PM PDT reply actions

Interesting...

not sure how this is relevant because Blake will no longer be playing against Miller…. but it is interesting none the less.

by Escrote on Jul 28, 2009 3:13 PM PDT reply actions

I suppose if you gotta compete for the start...

this gives some indication how that competition might go.

Interesting reading. Thanks 91.

by levelhed on Jul 28, 2009 3:21 PM PDT reply actions

Numbers are Numbers...

I don’t really like to use them to pit our players against each other but thanks for the work.

I think the real, relevant numbers are that last year the Blazers were 54-28 playing in the tough Western Conference and tied for the second best record. We have since added Andre Miller who was the most important, if not most talented, guy on the 76ers. We in essence traded Miller for Sergio and greatly improved the PG position… no matter who starts and who comes off the bench.

I really think it is time to stop the Blake bashing and Outlaw trashing in all its forms. Maybe this wasn’t intended to be such but that’s how it comes off to me. I like Steve Blake for all he has done for this team as it has grown. I also like what Miller brings to the floor and how he has the potential to improve our overall offensive production…

I don’t think Nate will use numbers like those in this post to make his decision on who starts, but you never know. Either way we are much stronger at the position and it should help us make yet another step towards a championship run…

GO BLAZERS!!!

by Ilikeemall on Jul 28, 2009 3:47 PM PDT reply actions

Well at least we now have one of the NBA's "Blazer Killers" on our own team.

Miller to start over Blake anyday.

by GTsmookie on Jul 28, 2009 4:23 PM PDT reply actions

I like how Miller is a up-tempo guard and we should bring our

fast break points up alot. And i like how he gets to the freethrow line.

Momma.....der go dat man

by AllHailRoy on Jul 28, 2009 5:04 PM PDT reply actions

this seems really irrelevant

they will never play against one another. it would make more sense to compare steve blake vs. point guard x and then andre miller vs. point guard x.

i don’t mean this as an insult but i think their head to head numbers are the least relevant pg comparison i can think of.

by colinmarsh on Jul 28, 2009 6:10 PM PDT reply actions

you are wrong.

they have played against each other and they will play against each other at practice too. They may not play against each other while they are on the same team come game time. It is a far cry to say they will never play against each other. Trades happen and players that were teammates will become rivals. Never is a long long time and I for one am smart enough to know better than to say never.

Anyone who actually played for more than 10 minutes should understand the head to head matchups that are displayed here. I take any negative feedback on this as a sign you don’t have a/c and your brain is cooked into mush.

Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'. -the shawshank redemption.

by pdxborn on Jul 28, 2009 10:08 PM PDT up reply actions

a better comparison

was the Nuggets when Blake was running the team vs Denver with Miller as the PG. Somebody posted those splits on another thread, a few days ago

MIller is better, but I’m glad to have them both. I really don’t care who starts on opening night, I expect Andre will start the first playoff game, if he’s healthy

When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Jul 29, 2009 3:22 PM PDT up reply actions

The more relevant head to head comparison

is Sergio versus Miller as this is the improvement to our roster from last year. Of course we all know Miller wins that head to head by a ridiculous margin. Thanks for the effort Blazer91, I enjoyed looking at the numbers even if other posters think they aren’t relevant.

by NWfan on Jul 28, 2009 6:29 PM PDT reply actions

THANKS.

for the work and the time it took to put together this data. I for one appreciate a look at numbers rather than feelings or speculation. Numbers don’t lie, they don’t always tell the whole story, but they don’t lie. Perhaps a lesson in extrapolation would ease the issue of clarity that some folks are obviously having on a triple digit day like today.

Perhaps I’m reaching here, but I’d say that Miller Time is to the Sixers what B-Roy is to the Blazers and now we have him here in Portland. Yes, I know he’s not an all-star, but like I said earlier, numbers don’t always tell the whole story.

I won’t lie, at first I was pretty happy about Turkeyglue, but was happy when he backed out and we went after Milsap. That was a win/win. Didn’t get him, but I think that this might be better for the team than either of the previous attempt at free agents this summer. (And we cost Utah either Boozer or a S—- load of money, which, conveniently, we will get a chunk of). Much less hoopla, but a solid contributor in an area that sorely needed to be shored up. I think that at the end of the season, people will realize just how much this acquistion means to the team. jmho.

Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'. -the shawshank redemption.

by pdxborn on Jul 28, 2009 10:25 PM PDT reply actions

Miller is a primary scorer for his team, Blake is a pass first PG.

These numbers don’t mean much, because they are different types of players in different situations. Allow me to shed some light on this, because I have a good memory for this kind of stuff.

The most recent four games are the only ones that mean anything, because before that, you are talking about Miller being on a playoff team with Denver, while Portland was still a lottery team. Blake was not the full time starter, played less than 30mins in a few of those games, and did not have the same guys to pass to he does now. Also the second most recent game was the one where Blake got his shoulder injury, so he didn’t even play the whole game. There just aren’t a lot of things that can be compared here. The sample is too small, and most of the sample is apples to oranges. I’m not saying Blake is better, only that Blake is very effective at what he does, and the net effect for his team over a season doesn’t put him as far behind Andre as those who only look a points and assists might think. Blake’s role is to be fourth scoring option for one thing, while Andre has been second for most of his career. Andre has also been on good teams at least with Denver and the sixers. Neither team were as good as the Blazers are now, but both were better than the Blazers were prior to this season. Those were playoff teams. If we look at the success of their teams, Blake won 54, while Miller won 41 this year. That’s not a fair comparison either, but numbers in a vacuum will do that. I’m glad to have two great guys on the same team, and no worries about the point, which I was only worried about because we had no legit back up for Blake. Now we have two starter quality players who’s abilities do not duplicate each other. Yeah Blazers.

by wingzeta on Jul 28, 2009 11:24 PM PDT reply actions