Trail Blazers veterans Marcus Camby and Andre Miller lead in different ways

When it comes to leading the Trail Blazers, nobody plays bigger roles than Marcus Camby and Andre Miller.

That's why Camby, the 37-year-old veteran of 15 NBA seasons found himself in the office of coach Nate McMillan in mid-February for a surprise meeting.

And it's why McMillan said he will seek out Miller, the 35-year-old veteran of 12 seasons, sometime before Saturday's Game 1 in Dallas for a pointed talk.

The message from McMillan's meetings with Camby and Miller is simple: Life in the NBA can be short. Make the most of it.

In his talk with Camby, McMillan alluded to the center's career coming to a close. What if this Blazers team was the last good team Camby would play on? What if he never reaches the playoffs again?

McMillan said he will have a similar talk with Miller either today or Saturday.

"I want to paint that picture for them," McMillan said. "That hey, we don't know if we are ever going to be here again. Let's go out and leave it out there. Let's be hungry."

In particular, McMillan wants Camby and Miller to impose that hunger and urgency into their teammates by being vocal on the court, and if need be, call out a player when he is out of line or misses an assignment.

If this turns out to be their last playoff run, he doesn't want them to look back five years from now and have regrets about not saying something, or taking action in a certain situation.

"That's why I'm talking to them," McMillan said. "Let's get it all out there."

The notion of this being the last playoff hurrah was met differently by Camby and Miller.

Miller has a team-option for next season remaining on his contract, and says he figures he has three or four years left in him, be it in Portland or elsewhere.

Camby, who has one year left on his contract, says he can't help but feel a little nostalgic when the playoffs come around.

Camby is the only Blazers player to have appeared in the NBA Finals, starting three games in place of the injured Patrick Ewing in the 1999 Finals against San Antonio.

"I haven't been back since, so that's what keeps driving me," Camby said. "Because you never know. You ask, 'Could this be it?' And with the lockout looming, you never know what is going to happen.

"So I'm just trying to seize the moment right now," Camby said. "We are looking to do some great things."

McMillan went as far as to hope that Camby's teammates embrace something akin to a rallying cry.

"I think it would be good for the team to say, 'Shoot, let's do this for Camby,"' McMillan said.