[orangedays]

Drama heats up, and Blazers lose
Darius Miles misses practice and is benched, and Amare Stoudemire ignites the Suns
Friday, March 24, 2006
JASON QUICK
The Oregonian

PHOENIX -- When this little soap opera called the Trail Blazers signed off earlier this week, it was with its despondent coach, Nate McMillan, lamenting how there always seems to be "drama" intertwined within the team's story line of losses.

Now, after Thursday's latest episode -- a 125-108 loss at Phoenix -- this season series has been reduced to nothing short of a comedy.

Darius Miles, one of the team's co-stars and the subject of much criticism, was benched for the entire game Thursday because he did not show up to the team's 10 a.m. shootaround.

"I overslept," Miles said.

Without their second leading scorer, the Blazers were shorthanded all night, especially as players racked up personal fouls, causing McMillan to constantly shuffle in tired players who were forced to play out of position.

The absence of Miles, who sat in uniform at the end of the bench, was compounded when leading scorer Zach Randolph struggled through foul trouble and double teams, finishing with four points on 2 of 6 shooting and three rebounds in 21 minutes.

The final score could have been worse -- the Suns beat the Blazers by 45 in December -- had it not been for standout nights from Viktor Khryapa (22 points and 12 rebounds) and rookie Jarrett Jack (20 points), both of whom set career highs in points.

So while the Pacific Division-leading Suns (46-21) celebrated the return of Amare Stoudemire, who in 19 minutes produced 20 points and nine rebounds in his first action of the season after undergoing microfracture knee surgery in October, the Blazers were left wondering where their supposed star-in-waiting would lead them next.

"I've never, as a player or as a coach, seen that," McMillan said. "I've had players come late, but never miss an entire shootaround. You know, that . . . that . . . there's no excuse for that."

Miles' missed shootaround comes one game after he did not score or grab a rebound in 17 minutes against Milwaukee on Monday. During that game, McMillan pulled Miles with 11:13 left in the fourth quarter, after which Miles walked off the court and into the locker room, where team officials said he was suffering from a bruised eye.

The following is an exchange with Miles after Thursday's game as he sat in front of his locker:

What happened today?

I got up about 8:45 a.m., put on my clothes . . . the bus (to shootaround) was like at 9:45 a.m. -- so I laid down, watched TV, and woke up, and it was like 11:30 a.m.

Why were you so tired?

I wasn't really tired. I don't know.

So then what happened?

I went and got something to eat, then came over early with (Steve) Blake and Martell (Webster) around 4 p.m., got some shots up, and before the game (McMillan) told me I wasn't going to play.

You didn't talk to McMillan before then? You didn't feel the need to apologize, or tell him what happened?

I was going to tell him before the game. But then he came and talked to me.

How do you feel things are going for you?

Fine. I'm cool.

Really?

Yeah, I'm good.

The reason these questions are asked is because people expect so much of you.

Nah, you've been on my (butt) since the beginning of the season. I got past that stage last year. I'm a married man now. That (stuff) don't even get to me.

But when you signed your six-year, $48 million contract, that carries a certain responsibility.

You're right. You're right.

Do you feel you are living up to that responsibility?

Yeah, I'm living up to my responsibilities. What more am I supposed to do?

Well, not get benched for not showing up, do more than zero point and zero rebounds . . .

I took four shots that game (Monday against Milwaukee). Whose fault is that then? Is it my fault I got four shots?

Then go and get seven rebounds, or four assists.

Check my minutes.

You played 17 minutes.

Thank you. There ain't nothing to talk about. Me being productive . . . man, I got four shots. But I ain't mad about that, there ain't nothing to get mad about. It's just the way that game was going. It's like tonight with Z-Bo (Randolph). Z-Bo couldn't work out of the post tonight, he was getting double-teamed every time.

It was just one night, . . . guess I didn't get the shots. I didn't get the ball like I did the night before (when he had 26 points on Saturday in Milwaukee). I didn't get the open shots. Ain't no big deal, we learn from it as a team, keep moving, play the next game.

That next game is tonight in the Rose Garden against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. McMillan said he will play Miles. What will Blazers fans see?

Only the next episode of this soap opera will tell.

Notes:

McMillan said the team is considering sending second-year center Ha Seung Jin to the Fort Worth Flyers of the Development League next week. He said the plan would be to have the 7-foot-3 center play two or three games then return to the Blazers. Ha, who hasn't played in the last nine games, said he would welcome the move. "I need more playing time, so I have to go to D-League, and I think that is good for me," Ha said Thursday. It would be the second time the Blazers have utilized the Development League; in January they sent rookies Martell Webster and Sergei Monia to Fort Worth for two weeks. . . . Center Theo Ratliff (left ankle) did not accompany the team to Phoenix.