It's 'Miller time' for the Blazers

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Story Published: Jul 28, 2009 at 8:09 PM PDT

By Katy Brown KATU News and KATU.com Staff

PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland Trail Blazers have officially introduced their newest player, Andre Miller, who has plenty to say to the skeptics who think he's too old.

Miller is 33 years old but he's also the NBA's ironman, playing in a league-best 530 games. His numbers last season were near, or higher, than his career averages but some say he's a step slower on defense now.

We asked him about the rumblings about Portland getting him on the downslope of his career and he said he ignores that kind of talk.

"So, I mean, my body doesn't feel 33," he said. "I mean, that's just an age thing to me and I don't think I've really had any slippage in my game. I'm still at a point in my career where I'm still peaking, I think."

"We think he's as competitive as ever before," said General Manager Kevin Pritchard. "One thing that impressed me about Andre is this - he never misses practice and he never misses games. So you can say that maybe his age is a factor but if you're doing those two things, you're keeping your body right and your mind right."

With Miller now on board, Coach Nate McMillan says the Blazers will speed up their game.

"He likes to run and we want to run," he said. "Transition baskets - the tempo is set by the players on the floor and Andre's a very good rebounder for a guard. I think he and Jason Kidd are probably two of the better point guards that rebound and push and start the break off the board."

Miller has not been promised the starting point guard job over Steve Blake. They will battle for it in training camp.

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