Andre Miller Hopes Suns Will Be Tight in Gm. 2

‘Dre and his Blazers teammates delivered the opening punch in Phoenix last night, and hope the Suns will be feeling the psychological toll come next game. The Portland Tribune reports: ” Camby calls Miller “our quiet assassin.” He is a man of few words, for sure – bashful, reluctant to make eye contact…When I asked Miller if it were his best career playoff game – he tied his scoring high with Denver against San Antonio in 2005 – he shook his head. ‘I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘I’ve had some better games.’ Miller has an analytical mind when it comes to basketball. He is the proverbial coach on the floor. To wit: ‘We talked about forcing the issue a little bit tonight, not settling for jump shots. If we settle for jump shots, that allows (the Suns) to get out in transition. They only had four fast-break points all night … we were active with our hands defensively. You didn’t see a lot of dunks by Stoudemire off the pick-and-roll – none, I don’t think. We worked on our help defense, moving guys around and making them shoot contested threes.’ And I loved this: ‘Big to win the first game. Hopefully (the Suns) will be tight the next game.’ The Blazers certainly shouldn’t be tight for Tuesday’s Game 2. They’ve stolen homecourt advantage from the Suns. All the Blazers have to do now is hold serve at home, winning three games at the Rose Garden, to advance to the second round.”