By now, most Blazers fans know this team isn't filled with malcontents, loud mouths or cancers. But there are some guys with an edge.

Bayless can be feisty about not playing, which usually makes his steely stare even more piercing. But his ire never comes across in a distracting or malicious manner.

And Miller on Monday didn't exactly come across as a contented player - and that was well before he was bombarded in 72 different ways about McMillan naming Steve Blake as the starting point guard on Day 1 of camp. Turns out, Miller wasn't just frosty with the media, but Blazers employees as well.

He was none too happy about having to take a physical for the second time since his July signing, and rather irritated about some of the stops players have to make during their media-day tour. He had done much of these promotional spots in July, he figured. So a day that started for most players at 2 p.m. started at 10 a.m. for Miller and extended well past 3 p.m.

Still, for how transparent his displeasure was Monday _ which on this team makes him stick out - Miller said all the right things. He said Blake being the starter meant nothing on Day 1 of camp. And really, he said, all he wants to do is play.

I'm dismissing Monday as Miller having a bad day. As an accomplished veteran, he should be afforded some respect in regards to some of the tasks for which he had to wait around. And I can understand what appears to be a lukewarm (at best) opinion of the media. A lot of guys just don't like dealing with reporters/bloggers/etc.

But he is in for a long October if he is already edgy about questions regarding the point guard situation.

This is not merely one of the biggest storylines of the preseason, it's one of the biggest factors of the entire season.

Does Miller's presence, and need to have the ball, take away from Brandon Roy's strengths? Who is better suited for which lineup? And who finishes the games?

These are all major questions, and ones that need time to be answered.

But Roy was a surprisingly adamant supporter of Blake on Monday, in a manner that wasn't meant any disrespect toward Miller.

Roy said that during pickup games this summer there were times when he and Miller both waited for the inbound to be made to them, until Roy finally realized Miller is the point guard and needs to take the ball. And he said if he and Miller were to be paired right now, they would not look good.

And Miller said he and Roy, understandably, have no chemistry whatsoever.

Which makes one understand why McMillan is appointing Blake atop the point guard depth chart for this morning's 10 a.m. practice.

"We are going to have to work on it,'' Roy said of the cohesion between he and Miller. "If we played tomorrow it would look like it wouldn't work, but I think that's the good thing about preseason, we have a full month.''

Then he became direct, hitting the side of his hand into his palm.

"And we still have Blake,'' Roy said. "Right now, I am extremely comfortable playing with Steve Blake. I know what he wants, I know he knows where to get me (the ball), and I think that's why coach says he is going to start Blake, until we can build a chemistry. But I always go back to this: I am comfortable playing with Steve Blake.''