Nuggets guard Andre Miller pushes the ball up the court late in the second half of Denver&#8217;s 112-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs last Tuesday. ,
Nuggets guard Andre Miller pushes the ball up the court late in the second half of Denver's 112-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs last Tuesday. , (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

Denver sure does have a brilliant 36-year-old quarterback.

Yep, Andre Miller, born just five days before Peyton Manning, is still chugging for the Nuggets. He is old, yes. He is slow, yes. But the point guard is so very important to the Nuggets' flow, to the calm of the storming offense, to the steadiness of the NBA's third-youngest team.

Miller is the anti-Peyton in many regards. The reserve is reserved. Which, perhaps, makes his sudden surges that much more powerful. Like in his pregame speech in L.A., before last spring's Game 5 against the Lakers, a road game Denver won. Or when he takes over a huddle during a timeout. When it happens, Miller tossing verbal assists during timeouts, assistant coach Melvin Hunt just watches in awe.

"There's nothing like when a peer (explains and inspires) you where to go," Hunt said. "It's great when coaches do it, but it's incredible when peers do it."

Miller is second on the Nuggets in plus-minus rating and averages 5.4 assists per game, translated to 10.1 per 48 minutes, good for 10th in the entire NBA. He thrives at pushing the ball with the pass in transition, finding the right open guy, not just any open guy. His point counterpart, Ty Lawson, is more effective at pushing the ball with the dribble.

Miller thrives with JaVale McGee, assisting on nearly half of the center's baskets. The goal is for Lawson to one day become the alley to McGee's oop. But for now, JaVale prevails mostly with Miller, for Miller reads his movements like, yes, a quarterback looking for a receiver.


Dre thrives in the low post, where some joke that he's Denver's most-skilled low-post scorer. The 6-foot-2 guard is crafty. He's that old guy who plays with you at the Y, the guy in some antiquated sneakers who schools you with his old-school, who doesn't unleash fancy moves as much as calculated maneuvers.

"I think it's just great to see a veteran guy show the young guys how it's not all about speed, quickness and jumping," Nuggets coach George Karl recently said. "It's about playing the game the right way, and if a few of the younger guys can just pick up on a few of his little tricks ... if Ty could get a couple of his little tricks, he'd be great."

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In a couple of recent big wins, Miller was the fourth-quarter fourth quarter. At Indiana, he scored eight points in the final 2:35. Against Memphis, he scored 18 total points, making four clutch free throws in the final 10 seconds. And he hit a tough jumper against the Spurs.

Nuggets fans have a pair of gripes about Miller being paired with Lawson late. For one, that's two shorter point guards on the floor, meaning one of them will have to defend a larger shooting guard. The other is that Miller takes the ball out of Lawson's hands, and Ty thus can't create as often. But the counter-argument is that with the game on the line, you want your smartest, most-productive sure hands out there. And which player does Karl trust more than Miller?

But as NBA blogger Beckley Mason wrote for The New York Times: "When (Miller) shares the court with an up-and-coming star point guard like Lawson, his dominance of the ball is more problematic.


"The issue is that Lawson often fills more of an off-guard role in these lineups because Miller is the poorer shooter of the two and thus cannot float off the ball, the way Jason Kidd does in New York's two-point guard lineups. Lawson is a passable 3-point shooter — certainly better than Miller in that regard — but he is likewise better with the ball in his hands."

And so, this will be a key story line to watch as the season unfolds. How often will the reserve Miller be on the court in close games? And the way Lawson has fumbled and stumbled lately late, will Karl dare try a late-game possession with solely Miller on the floor? Or is it Miller's presence that's been hurting Lawson?

Having both guys is a good problem to have, but the Nuggets will continue to assess whether it's a problem having both guys together.

Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294, bhochman@ or