Miami Heat giving Mike Miller extra minutes before the playoffs - NBA Update
With the regular season winding down and the Miami Heat resting several of their star players to give them rest for the playoffs. Heat`s reserve forward Mike Miller feels that additional minutes in that span has helped him improve
his shooting rhythm and is helping the team get ready for the playoffs.
“It’s been good the last couple games that [Wade, James and Bosh] have been able to get a little rest, and we’ve had the opportunity to play in roles we had before on other teams,” Miller said. “That helps get you ready for the
playoffs.”
In the last four games, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James have all taken turns to rest and with these players out, Miller, has had to play a significant number of minutes in key stages of the matchups.
In these games, Miller has been averaging 10.8 points, 4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game and along with that has been able to shoot the ball 52.4% from beyond the arc.
Miller feels this additional responsibility and playing time is helping him get back into his shooting stroke and will be coming out strong and ready to play in the post season.
Even though in Heat`s last win, Miller was struggled on the night and only managed to shoot 4 of 12 from the field but he did manage to knock down a significant game turning three pointer from the corner against the Houston Rockets.
These were the kind of plays which firstly were responsible for bringing the former NBA Sixth Man of the Year to the Heat. He was considered a significant piece of the puzzle in order for Miami to be title contenders perfectly
complimenting the starting lineup which contained the Big Three.
However since his arrival in Miami, Miller has been forced to miss out on a total of 71 games courtesy of various injuries to his ankle, shoulder, thumb and a hernia problem.
Even this season Miller was forced to miss out on 14 games due to sprains in his ankle but his recent shooting exploits seem to portray a picture of a healthier Millers, who feels good to be back on the court.
Miami`s head coach, Eric Spoelstra has considered Millers return of high value and has shown much trust by throwing Miller into key roles in recent games.
“We’re finally starting to see some of the things that we’ve always liked about Mike,” -Erik Spoelstra said on Sunday.
Spoelstra considers Millers to be a strong weapon in Miami`s arsenal as the 6 ft 8 inch guard/forward has a lot of versatility in his skill set and can adapt to various situations on the court.
Miller can be a spot up three point shooter, your go to guy on pick and roll situations and with his huge frame; Miller is able to crash the boards pretty hard.
In the current season, Miller has already had one stand out performance so far in this season which came back in January when he returned to action after missing the first 11 games of the season against the San Antonio Spurs.
Miller made 6 of 6 three pointers in the game and helped the Heat turn the game around in the second half to record a comeback win.
With Miller believing that he is getting back to being his best, we are surely in for a treat as the playoffs are just around the corner. We are surely going to be seeing a lot of Miller as he would look to do his best for the
Heat in the post season.
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