Jordan Miller on earning trust of Clippers coach Tyronn Lue

The second-year guard spoke exclusively with Russo Writes.

(Photo credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images)

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- On Sunday night, following the team’s 126-122 victory over the Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue was asked about Jordan Miller’s performance on the night as the second-year wing put up 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in 15 minutes.

In Lue’s detailed answer that night, he mentioned that the 24-year-old has “earned” the trust of the head coach with his recent string of performances.

“I love what he’s done. He’s played with confidence,” Lue told reporters Sunday. “He’s gotten to the basket, gotten to the rim, gotten to the free throw line. He plays poised. He plays like a veteran player. He’s earned my trust. It just kind of depends on who’s healthy, when we’re back, and when we’re whole [about more minutes]. So, we’ll see.”

In that Sunday game against Denver, Miller had several sequences where he took turns bullying Nuggets defenders Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray, scoring layups and tough baskets in the paint, an area of the floor that has become a calling card for Miller as the wing has developed a near-unstoppable eurostep—or “zero” step, as Lue referred to it ahead of Tuesday’s game—that has kept defenders off-balance.