Coach Nate McMillan gathered his team before practice earlier this week and delivered a message the Trail Blazers' organization hasn't been suited to hear for some time: This team can be anything it wants to be.
It can play small. It can play big. It can operate a fast-paced, run-and-gun offense or it can methodically grind out a half-court slugfest. It can be physical or it can use finesse. And, most impressively, the Blazers can do all of these things, and more, at any point in any game.
"My rookie year, we felt like we were missing something,"
Brandon Roy said. "My second year, we felt like we were missing something. But this is the first training camp where I don't feel like we're missing anything."
"There's someone on our team that can fill every void, and I think that's hard for teams to match up with. Now, instead of us trying to figure out how to stop you, you have to figure out how to stop us, and I think that says a lot because we have the versatility to put different people at any position."
The Blazers feature one of the deepest rosters in the Western Conference, but perhaps more important, they possess an interchangeable collection of individual talent that can compete -- and excel -- at a variety of positions. In the Blazers' case, depth equals versatility, and this versatility puts the organization near the forefront of a leaguewide movement.
"That's the league trend,"
McMillan said. "Because of the rule changes, zoning and needing more shooters, what teams have tried to do is add another shooter to the floor; put four shooters on the floor. And the versatility of teams has changed along the way."
So, too, have the Blazers. Roy was drafted as a shooting guard and developed into an All-Star last season because of his ability to direct the team at point guard. But when McMillan needed a small lineup last season, Roy was versatile enough to slide over and play small forward. And he's hardly alone.
McMillan is comfortable playing Travis Outlaw at small forward, power forward and even shooting guard. LaMarcus Aldridge has demonstrated an ability to play power forward and center. Martell Webster can play small forward and shooting guard. The list goes on and on.
The Blazers' newest additions have only furthered the movement. First-round draft pick
Jerryd Bayless can play point guard and shooting guard, and Spanish transplant Rudy Fernandez can play shooting guard, small forward and, McMillan says, perhaps even point guard in a pinch.
Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard built the Blazers roster with versatility in mind.
"One of the things we looked at was how many players can play each position,"
Pritchard said. "And I think when you look at our roster, we've got four point guards, I think we have four guys that can play (shooting guard). I think we have four guys that can play (small forward) or (power forward) and four that can play center. And that gives Nate a bunch of options during the season."
McMillan said versatility, spearheaded in part by what coach Mike D'Antoni did at Phoenix, has become increasingly popular because of a shift at the power forward position. Burly, bruising figures such as Karl Malone, Charles Barkley and Kevin McHale have been replaced by athletic and versatile players such as Aldridge and Dirk Nowitzki.
"What you're getting, because of the change of the power forward position, is that everybody is bumped down,"
McMillan said. "The power forward is now a small forward. Power forwards back in the 1970s, '80s and early '90s were bruisers. Centers now are power forwards."
For the first time as coach of the Blazers, McMillan has the pieces this season to run multiple lineups and rotations in an effort to not only thwart what an opponent is doing, but also to create his own mismatches.
If anything, McMillan says, he has to be careful not to fall into the trap of over-coaching. With so many options, so many potential lineup combinations, he must avoid "over-thinking"
his advantages. If McMillan succeeds, it could be a decisive advantage for the Blazers as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2003.
"We have the versatility with our team that everybody can play a couple different positions,"
Bayless said. "There's so many interchangeable pieces. I think we're a very versatile team and it will hopefully help us in the long run."
Added center Joel Przybilla, one of the few guys on the roster who will play exclusively at one position: "You are only as strong as your last player on the roster. And top to bottom, we're deep and versatile."
