Miller's demand: another shot at title
這一篇翻出來，溜馬迷又要哭了。（呼叫翻譯高手了）^^
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Miller's demand: another shot at title
Bob Kravitz
http://www.indystar.com/articles/5/144047-3155-158.html
May 6, 2004
It was the summer of 2000, mere months after Reggie Miller and the
Pacers came within two victories of an NBA title, and the team was
being dismantled.
Mark Jackson was following the free agent money to Toronto. Rik Smits
was retiring. And then there was the final straw: Dale Davis being
traded to Portland for a skinny kid named Jermaine O'Neal.
Suddenly, Miller found himself alone, the last remaining vestige of
a remarkable team, surrounded now by a bunch of 20-year-olds who were
a couple of years away from accomplishing anything.
"When I told him what we were doing, it really hit him hard because
he was losing a lot of friends," Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said. "I think
he was like, 'Aw, man.' It hit him, 'I'm 37 and everybody else on this
team is 21.' "
That's when Miller made a conscious choice, a decision that has helped
make the Pacers a championship contender less than four years later.
He decided to not only stay here through the rebuilding, but to help
the process by stepping aside and giving the young guys room to grow.
He never demanded his minutes. He never required a certain number of
shots. He never complained when his younger teammates were acting like
less than complete professionals, even as Miller's personal window of
opportunity was closing.
At times, in fact, he was almost too deferential, sublimating his ego
and his game while passing the ball, and the baton, to his teammates.
Now, though, it's all paying off. Miller is eight victories from another
Finals appearance.
"I could have been a reluctant superstar and fought the transition,"
Miller said after Tuesday's practice. "But for this franchise to remain
at the top, and it will once I'm gone, someone had to defer and step
back. It happens in every walk of life."
Not often in the NBA, he is told.
Miller smiled.
"Well, that's true," he said. "But I knew if I didn't step back and
nurture and teach -- if I cried that I wanted the ball and demanded
my shots -- we weren't going anywhere. I could have butted heads with
Jermaine once he got here, or Jonathan (Bender) and Al (Harrington).
But change is inevitable in life, and it's what you do with change
and how you accept it. I know my window of opportunity is closing,
but I felt like if they learned quickly, it would preserve me in the
long run and give us a shot at a title.
"And that's what's happened."
For three straight years, Miller's scoring average, playing time and
field-goal attempts have diminished. But the statistics don't quantify
what Miller has done for this franchise in that time. He not only gave
O'Neal and Ron Artest room to make their own way, he showed his younger
teammates what it means to be a professional.
How can a Jonathan Bender or an Al Harrington complain about minutes
when Miller, the face of the franchise and a future Hall of Famer,
is so willing to sacrifice his numbers?
They can't.
And they haven't.
Not this year.
"When I saw the direction we were going, I never thought about leaving,
because Donnie (Walsh) is too smart to ever let this franchise hit rock
bottom," Miller said. "I looked at it and decided this was the direction
the whole league was heading, with younger players, high school kids.
The question would be, who would win the race to develop those young
players the quickest?
"I saw my role becoming one where I helped us win that race."
When Miller's teammates talk about getting Uncle Reggie back to the
Finals, it's not simply out of respect for what he's done in the past.
It's more than that. They want to reward him for the sacrifices he made
for them.
He's not the first superstar to move to the background for the betterment
of the franchise. David Robinson, in particular, did it to allow Tim Duncan
to flourish. But Miller and Duncan are exceptions, and not the rule.
"Outside of Reggie and David, I can't think of any others who've made
the transition as gracefully as those two guys," Walsh said. "I'm sure
it's a hard thing to do. But I saw it that first training camp after
the Finals. He made it real obvious he wanted to hand the baton to
Jermaine or another one of the young guys. I could tell he was holding back.
"That's pretty remarkable for a guy with his record. And remember, he was
just a year removed from getting to the Finals."
At some point, though, the Pacers will need more than his presence if
they're going to stretch this playoff run into June. They're going to
need his game. They're going to need the old Reggie, and not an old Reggie.
"Do you still feel like you could take over a game if you had to?" he
was asked.
Miller produced the same look he usually reserves for Spike Lee.
"Oh, yeah," he said quickly. "Absolutely."
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