PATTY - A GREAT TEAMMATE

There is a lot to be decided for the Trail Blazers in their final 11 games, but it appears one of the major decisions -- who will be the backup point guard -- was made Tuesday night.

Patty Mills, coach Nate McMillan made clear Tuesday, is not the answer.

For the past two weeks -- really since he had a nightmarish end to the first quarter in Atlanta on March 12 -- Mills has seen his backup role diminished. In part, it was because McMillan has been incorporating Brandon Roy back into the mix, using him at times as a point guard.

But much of it also had to do with Mills' play. There have been some careless turnovers. Costly fouls. As much as everyone loves Mills and his personality, the simple fact is he wasn't getting the job done.

So as the season shrinks and the importance of each game grows, what used to be about 15 minutes a game for Mills started dwindling to nine minutes. Then six minutes. And on Tuesday, Mills played all of 14 seconds in a blowout over Washington until he came in for the final 4:50 and the Blazers up 34.

McMillan has been wrestling with this decision for the past couple of weeks. He is hesitant to use Roy and Rudy Fernandez at point guard for extended spells because he feels the offense becomes stagnant. And he feels the responsibility of running the offense takes away from the strengths of Roy and Fernandez.

So he kept telling himself that he likes having a true point guard like Mills in the game because he gets the Blazers into their offense. And he has great speed, which McMillan would like to see translate to the Blazers' offense.

Even after the Blazers' game Sunday in Los Angeles, when Mills made a silly foul that resulted in two made free throws at the end of the first quarter, McMillan insisted Mills would remain in the rotation.

Then before Tuesday's game, McMillan acknowledged that Mills was on watch. His play had to improve, or else Roy and Fernandez would get all of the backup point guard minutes.

Forty-five minutes later, when the game started, Mills was not in McMillan's game plan.

So what did the man who essentially had just lost his job do in response?

What Mills always does.

After the final buzzer, he stood in the tunnel that leads from the court to the Blazers locker room and gave fist bumps to everyone that walked through. Everyone. Owner Paul Allen. Executive Bert Kolde. The mascot. General manager Rich Cho. A janitor with two brooms. All of his teammates. Announcer Michael Holton.

Then there was nobody. But Mills stood there, leaned against the railing and waited.

Finally, teammate Chris Johnson -- who did an interview on the court -- came running through. Another fist bump. And now it was time to join the team.

"I just do it so they know I appreciate their hard work. That they are not alone," Mills said. "I think it goes a long way, especially for the guys who have been giving interviews on the court. They may think that everyone is waiting for him, but I will wait, just to say good game and walk him back in."

Some might think that image is corny. Touchy-feely. Or that it has nothing to do with executing an offense or winning basketball games.

But ask anybody around the Blazers, and they will tell you that Mills is, and always will be, a huge difference maker for this team.

For one, he is not hanging his head and accepting his demotion.

He was the last one to leave the court before the game, nearly missing the team's pregame meeting. He was lathered in sweat, working with assistants Bill Bayno, Hersey Hawkins and consultant Steve Gordon on how to better run his defender off screens. And he was working on altering the speed of his attack so it's not always full-speed ahead, but rather a bolt here and a pull back there.

Also, he continues to be this team's resident chemistry builder.

Publicly, he is already widely known for encouraging his teammates to sign up on Twitter, and now he, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, Marcus Camby and LaMarcus Aldridge all share playful banter throughout everyday on the social-mediaplatform, all there for fans to enjoy.

But privately, he also brings this team closer from a basketball standpoint. Take for instance Tuesday's game -- the same game most players probably would be stunned they weren't being put in by the coach.

Instead, Mills was asking questions, stimulating conversation on the bench. When Aldridge received a post-entry pass, Mills wondered aloud which player should cut through the lane to provide proper spacing for Aldridge to work. The next thing he knew, four other Blazers had joined in the conversation, offering their viewpoints.

"It was pretty cool," Mills said. "We had three, four, five guys involved in the same conversation about the game. And the next thing you know, we have five guys on the same page."

There will be times between now and the playoffs that Mills will be called upon. And he vows to keep working to be ready and improved for those opportunities, no matter how small.

"The way I look at it is it's still a role, even though the minutes have been cut down," Mills said. "If it's just a couple of minutes, those couple of minutes can be crucial to that game. So it's still a role. And I feel like I'm contributing whether I'm on the court or not."

PATTY MILLS - WAITING HIS TURN

With a horde of media members, bright lights, video cameras and microphones surrounding his stall in the Trail Blazers' locker room, Patty Mills sheepishly swiveled around in his chair and quipped:

"What, are you guys waiting for me?"

The Blazers had just defeated the Phoenix Suns 106-99 Tuesday night and Mills had played a significant, if not starring, role. His final statistical line was mostly modest -- nine points, seven assists and three rebounds in 29 minutes -- but perhaps teammate Wesley Matthews summed it up best when he said Mills had been the "player of the game."

The second-year point guard from Australia, who assumed a more prominent role because starting point guard Andre Miller had been suspended for the game, was a blur of energy, excitement and electricity at a time the reeling Blazers desperately needed such traits. It was only Mills' fourth game since joining the rotation as Miller's backup, and it was easily his most impressive and important performance in a Blazers uniform. The previous 17 games he has played a total of 6 mintues.

"He's earning the right to be out there and play more minutes," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "He has a high basketball IQ ... he's a very good passer, he sees the floor well and he's very crafty with the ball."

Mills turned in the highlight of the night -- a driving no-look pass through traffic that resulted in a three-point play for Rudy Fernandez. He also recorded six assists in the first half, swished two clutch pull-up jump shots in the third quarter and successful harassed All-Star point guard Steve Nash with his high-energy defense. And Mills did it all with exuberance and flash.

One week ago, before McMillan elevated Mills into the player rotation before the Blazers' game at the Boston Celtics, Mills' NBA career seemed destined to be defined by the upbeat antics and effervescent personality he revealed off the court.

But that personality has also surfaced on the court since Mills entered the rotation. The Blazers are just two games removed from a demoralizing string of six consecutive losses in which they fell to some of the NBA's cellar dwellers. Players admitted their confidence had wavered, and as the team returned to Portland from its worst trip in years, the Blazers were emotionally drained and depressed.

It might just turn out that Mills' upbeat personality has spread through the locker room at a time the Blazers desperately needed it.

"He's never sad," Nicolas Batum said after the Phoenix game. "He's always smiling. And now everybody has a smile on his face. We didn't see that the last two weeks. Everybody was thinking too much, feeling too much. Now we have two wins in a row. We need (Patty's) energy and I think everybody can grab onto that energy."

That Mills has reached this position is nothing short of astonishing. The Blazers' management group didn't expect him to show up for training camp in the fall because rookie Armon Johnson had earned the Blazers' 15th and final roster spot during summer league. And even after he showed up, Mills' odds of making the team featured the words, "slim," and "none." He's not even listed in the Blazers' media guide.

But Jeff Pendergraph tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, opening a door for Mills to be added to the roster just before opening night. The Blazers traded Jerryd Bayless before the regular season and Johnson assumed backup point guard duties. But after a strong start, Johnson struggled and McMillan went to Mills, who has registered 17 points and eight assists on 7-for-12 shooting the last two games -- both Blazers victories.

The recent success is a byproduct of Mills' patience and mental fortitude.

"It was hard," Mills said after practice Wednesday. "But I just knew this opportunity was going to come at some stage. I believed that, whether it was now or in a couple years, it was going to come one day. I've listened to the guys ... They've been telling me to be patient and just be ready because you never know when your time is going to come. You'd be an idiot not to listen to them and that was ringing inside my head the whole time."

Now Mills has a chance to be the catalyst behind what potentially can be a dynamic -- and much-needed -- second unit. Mills is effective in pick-and-roll sets and he's most dangerous in a fast-paced style that features fast breaks and transition offense. With Rudy Fernandez and Batum running the wings, the second unit -- which offered so little during the Blazers' losing streak -- can evolve into a legitimate and fun-to-watch weapon.

Mills has been given a chance. He hopes it's only the beginning.

PATTY MILLS

Since declaring for the NBA draft last month, Saint Mary's College point guard Patrick Mills has put sleep on the back burner, hitting the gym at 6:30 a.m. to sharpen his shooting skills and improve his conditioning. It's a solitary mission but one that might bring him closer to his lifelong goal of playing at the next level.

Mills said, "The process is only going to get harder, but to know what the goal is in front of you is rewarding. Every day is getting tougher because you know you have to be better than you are the previous day. At the moment, I'm on my own."

Mills, a sophomore, said he's learning "on the fly." Everything about the process is new.

He's set to attend the NBA Pre-Draft Combine, which begins May 27 in Chicago. It's his first chance to gauge teams' interest and begin plotting his next move.

A member of the 2008 Australian Olympic team, Mills has every reason to want to take his time. After all, only players selected in the first round receive guaranteed contracts, and the point guard pool in this year's draft is extremely deep. North Carolina's Ty Lawson, teenager Brandon Jennings and Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio are among those challenging Mills for a spot in the first round.

Still, several online mock drafts peg Mills as a legitimate first-round option. NBAdraft.net has Mills going to New Orleans as the No. 21 overall pick. ESPN.com lists him as the No. 23 selection. Mills, though, takes little solace in that.

"I try to stay away from that," Mills said. "They're only projections; they don't mean anything. At this point, I'm a bit of an underdog. I'm going into it with that mentality, but I have a lot to gain."