Come on down ;)

http://www.hoops.com.au/forum/24144-australian-22nba-watch22-2010-11-season/#p298615

BTW is it just me, or is Linky down even more than usual, lately?

Linky is down permanently for now, sorry.

Good news for sure. Love to see him get a real shot at shining, going head to head with Steve Nash. Nash will struggle to stay in front of Patty so lets hope he can take advantage of it!

Linky has been down for quite some time now...

awesome, about time. has what it takes just needs more minutes and will see the rewards. also needs consistant time on court and will get better and more confident. i honestly see alot more in this guy than many players in the nba who are in the 1st couple off the bench for their teams.

also shows for the boomers when against quality opposition 3 great qualities

1) wants the ball

2) backs himself

3) actually converts that on the scoreboard

will start to show that in nba with more minutes

is the game on TV at all?

Does anybody know how I could view this game? (in brisbane)

Any sports bars/places likely to televise it?

(One HD) is showing lakers vs washington

you can live stream it most likely from atdhe.com

Excuse my ignorance, but why all of a sudden is he playing so much and now starting?

Seems like it has all happened very very quickly.

Is their an injury? Or the team record is not good?

Just wondering.

Also I was wondering if Andersen in injured or just not in his teams best 12

Batum will start instead of Mills it says. Roy will be the ballhandler.

But Mills will probably produce more stats assuming he will more minutes

Team has been losing, Roy has been playing hurt, team is battlong injuries, rookie Armon Johnson after a decent start to the season has quickly fallen away, Coach is feeling the pressure and has to make changes...

Bayless being traded and the above mentioned form of Johnson has paved the way for Patty (plus obviously Miller's suspension).
As is often the cliche in the NBA, its about being at the right place at the right time. If Roy falls over for a substantial period of time on his gimpy wheel, it will only shorten the roster further.

Love Stevey, but I hope Patty burns him :)

Hopefully Patty gets some good minutes in the game against Orlando on Friday so we can watch him on One in Hi Def goodness

Realistically Mills got lucky from the recent Roy situation. And please stop talking about Mills like he's the best pg in the league...he's good but not great, get over it.

Unless Mills keep performing well or you're expecting Portland on the lookout for another guard already, which is very likely.

If you're talking about Mills' luck we would do well to recall the unfortunate hand injury he sustained in his sophomore year at St Mary's which saw his draft stock plummet like a stone and then, of course, the foot injury he sustained in his first session of practise with the 'Blazers which saw him out of action for half a year and with no realistic chance of pressing his case for significant minutes upon his return. He deserves his chance, having faced considerable adversity to get this far.

Well said AB4EVA + 1

Suns at Trail Blazers, 10 p.m. ET
December 7, 2010 · 9:39PM

TV: League Pass

* Blazers Nate McMillan will start Nicolas Batum in place of Andre Miller, who will sit out tonight's game due to a league suspension for his involvement in an incident with Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers Sunday night. Batum is a natural small forward and Miller a point guard, but McMillan wants to keep the backup point man — Patty Mills — in his role coming off the bench.

McMillan said Brandon Roy and Wesley Matthews will share ballhandling duties in Miller’s absence.

"They’re guards," McMillan said. “Both guys can bring it down and get us into our sets. We’ve played Nicolas, Brandon and Wesley together before. That group played a lot of minutes together the first time we played Phoenix [in the Oct. 26 season opener].”

* Center Joel Przybilla said it will feel weird not to have Miller — who had played in 632 consecutive games, high for a current NBA player — out of the lineup.

“You just expect Dre to be out there,” Przybilla said. “He’s been a rock for this team. It’s a huge loss. But it’s a chance for somebody else to step up and help us get a win.”

* McMillan said Batum will defend Steve Nash tonight, with Roy guarding Grant Hill and Matthews on Jason Richardson.

“The key against the Suns is [defending] transition and the 3-point line,” McMillan said. “Richardson is shooting lights out on threes (.484). Their game is to push the ball, spread the floor and see if you leave the 3-point line open. They want the first quick open look, whether it’s a layup or a three. Rotating back is going to be important and closing out to those guys.”

- Kerry Eggers

Those interested a stream available at:

http://channelsurfing.net/

PATTY MILLS NO LOOK PASS FOR A THREE POINT PLAY!! wow

Patty did not start, but came on around 7min mark and had 4 assists and 3 rebounds for the remainder of the first quarter, missing both his shots he attempted. Not bad at all...he leads all players in the game for assists so far, including Nash.

just dished a mad no look pass to rudy!

Today, Patty Mills became an NBA player. Serious break out game.

Mills has fed Fernandez for all his points I believe...

Whilst Mills had his first turnover, he followed up with consecutive assists to Fernandez (6 assists in total) and then got subbed out just 4min into the 2nd? WTF?

LC he has played 10 straight minutes (not including quarter time) so maybe giving him a breather

I would have thouigh 1/4 was his breather...

Patty doing really well nonetheless.

LC he was spent if your watching live

It must be hard playing no minutes and then all of the sudden you play 13.5 out of a possible 24. I know I would be tired.

Not watching live...

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/photos?gameId=301207022&photoId=1002921

good pics there of him and Nash

9pts and 6ast

1 turnover

Good so far.

4 fouls not so good.

7 assits- is that a career high?

Patty's no look pass

http://www.nba.com/video/games/blazers/2010/12/07/0021000314_phx_por_play2.nba/

Gotta say I feel very proud of him.

Not a run of the mill assist at all!

The reaction of the crowd said it all really

I think being a supporting cast guy suits him so much better than having to be the man like at the Worlds.

An energy type guy off the bench. If Earl Boykins can do it why not Patty?

Pretty tidy free throw shooting from the Blazers, 30/31, basically won them the game.

IMO, the Blazers should just cut Miller and share his minutes between Johnson and Mills--IMO Mills would get more.

IMO Miller doesn't do anything that Mills cant do..He isn't a very good shooter, average scorer, Just a smart head and a veteran though.

Blazers have some good talent coming through..If they can keep Batum, LA, Rudy etc. and Mills continues to develop they can be a very solid team.

Good game for Mills finishing with 9 points 7 assists after 28mins compared to Batums 12 points and no assists in the same time.

Ofcourse he has a long way to go to get to Nash's 24 points and 15 assist..but thats just insane

Anon, if Miller was 22, then cool. But he is 34 years of age. At some point, teams have to move on and say "We are going to develop our young talent".

Age is a factor in alot of GM's decisions. Its why the Suns have been reportedly trying to trade Nash. They might as well trade now and get something for him, rather than wait till he retires and get nothing for it.

Oh my goodness, were talking about Andre Miller. How can you compare him to Kobe, any one of the big 3 or Chauncey Billups! that's crazy.

Kobe, the big 3 and Chauncey are still ridicolously productive and huge parts to their teams (esp. Kobe and the big 3). Miller isn't such an important piece of Portland's jigsaw puzzle anyway. You saw that today...They won without him!
Lakers and Celtics would struggle unbelievably if Kobe or the Big 3 didn't play!! Geez.

Whats the worst that can happen playing young guys? I thought development and improvement was a good thing..hmm..
If your the Lakers, Celtics or Heat then your obviously not going to throw a young PG into such a pressure situation. But Portland are a team that need to mix things up..They have gone to the playoffs a few times in the past few years with Miller as PG and it hasn't paid dividends (Eliminated 1st or 2nd rounds). They might as well mix it up..They did that today and got the W even though Nash had 24 points and 15 assists! Geez.

Great game by Patty! He also made the No.2 play of the day on NBA's Top 10 plays with his no look pass to Fernandez at the end of the first quarter!

macdub portland struggled in playoffs because of injuries to key players... miller played some of his best ball in these games, i love pattys game but no team in the L would dump miller to start mills..

good sign for pat that they traded away bayless thou

a positive writeup from portland-

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2010/12/portland_106_phoenix_99_blazer.html

From that same article:

This was not your grind-it-out Blazers that struggled to score 80 points throughout its recent six-game losing streak.

Instead, this was a free-wheeling, entertaining brand of Blazers basketball, spearheaded by backup point guard Patty Mills, who not only pushed the pace, but also the envelope of conservative play that has come to define this team.

Mills finished with nine points, a career-high seven assists and a rousing ovation from a sellout of 20,151, which included his father, Benny, who is visiting from Australia.

"He's earning the right to play more minutes," coach Nate McMillan said of Mills.

Mills seemed to have a special oncourt connection with his closest friend on the team, Rudy Fernandez, finding him at the end of the first quarter on a no-look pass that Fernandez finished with a reverse layup while being fouled.

Good work Patty, great to see the strong play and hard work pay off.