Mike Miller's return....

[Heat fan06]

He said he was hopefully to return Tuesday but spro shot that down

Maybe he returns for first home game back?.

[twix2500]

I think he will be cleared to start practicing tuesday. But Spo will wants him to get a certain amount of practice time before he puts him in a game. Spo is trying to prevent players from returning to the court too early, and to verify that they are fully healthy and in condition to play. Its about making sure these players are physically ready for the playoffs. I support Spo on the way he handling the players health.

[DefenseWins]

He starts practice Tuesday but you know Spo, he waits forever to even play people. Just like UD when he was ready last season but Joel Anthony had to be in foul trouble for UD to even play.

JJ is going to have to be in foul trouble or something for Miller to see the floor

I hope I"m wrong, I think Miller should start off for like 10 minutes to get some floor time, some looks, and out of there til he gets his rhythm.

[TRG]

Am I one of the few that feels like we don't even really need Miller anymore? :\

[RexBoyWonder]

Am I one of the few that feels like we don't even really need Miller anymore? :\

We definitely need him, but we need the healthy confident version of Mike.

At his best he can be a awesome shooter, a good offensive player AND a great rebounder hussle type player. he's like the combination of the best things we get from James Jones (outside shot) , Battier (hussle and boards, not same D) and Cole (can create a shot) - all in one.

So yea we need him. we're not desperate for him, cause we do have those other guys..but he's an upgrade. plus, and i hate to say this - he can be useful in future trades.

Besides - i really want to see him do well after all the hardship he went through.
WAR MIKE!

[DefenseWins]

Am I one of the few that feels like we don't even really need Miller anymore? :\

I'm actually happy with JJ atm. Atleast I know he can contribute...

Miller.... he had his moments, but JJ had even more moments last season.

Only last thing Miller did great was get a double double against Chicago in Game 3 or 4, can't remember. But that's when he scored 12 and got 10 rebs.

Miller is scrappy, but he always injures himself. Knees, concussions... etc....

Before Miller's injuries, he was one of the best 3 point shooters so I'd like to see if he can prove everyone wrong.

If he ends up getting injured again or contributes very little, he's going to get amnestied next season

One thing though, I don't want Miller getting 30 minutes a game and he has a stat line of 3 0 0 3 2 TO's. A LOT of that happened last season because he had trouble shooting and was useless out there while JJ rotted on the bench.

It's all on Spo to give him REASONABLE minutes, not overuse him. It's kind of like giving Joel 30 minutes when he'd go 0 0 0 2....

[shanedude]

Am I one of the few that feels like we don't even really need Miller anymore? :\

My hope is that he actually has a good season and becomes trade-able.

[TRG]

I guess I'll give the guy one more chance but as of last season I saw nothing from him that would validate putting him in our main rotation over JJ.

If he doesn't improve this season we either need to trade or amnesty.

[Chosen01]

I'm content with JJ who actually doesn't PASS UP open 3s, that's one annoying thing about Miller, however he's a slightly better defender,much better passer and rebounder than JJ.

But like I said earlier this team really only needs consistent 3pt shooting(when you consider that each position is already versatile with great passers and rebounders for their respective positions).

If Miller can come back and actually look to SHOOT 3s then I'd be happy if he took JJ's minutes(which is inevitable) if not then meh....

[Mars]

Two busted thumbs would probably cause doubt and hesitancy in even the most confident of shooters. With a pair of healthy hands I expect Miller to start pulling the trigger on his jump shot once he gets his game legs back.

[dflash3]

Miller's hair is much longer than last season, and I'm pretty sure his hair is the source of his power. I expect him to regain his shooting touch.

[LikeABosh]

Am I one of the few that feels like we don't even really need Miller anymore? :\

Being 8-1 without him is evident that we don't NEED him. But I think we all want him. Any contribution from him is a luxury and not a necessity.

[GreenHat]

Am I one of the few that feels like we don't even really need Miller anymore? :\

We definitely need him, but we need the healthy confident version of Mike.

At his best he can be a awesome shooter, a good offensive player AND a great rebounder hussle type player. he's like the combination of the best things we get from James Jones (outside shot) , Battier (hussle and boards, not same D) and Cole (can create a shot) - all in one.

So yea we need him. we're not desperate for him, cause we do have those other guys..but he's an upgrade. plus, and i hate to say this - he can be useful in future trades.

Besides - i really want to see him do well after all the hardship he went through.
WAR MIKE!

Why do we "definitely" need Miller?

We are still the heavy favorites for the title without him.

And a "healthy and confident" Miller has not existed in several years. That's why none of those teams were sad to see him go.

I don't see why people like his defense. At this point he is a good rebounder for his position, a good shooter who is afraid to shoot and a bad defender (last year our defense would go to **** when he would come on 111.1points/48 mins vs 103.1points/48 mins)

He is an average offensive player, an above average rebounder and a way below average defender.

Who would you want him taking minutes from?

They aren't going to completely sit Battier and Jones should be playing more not less. Jones is a good shooter who isn't afraid to shoot like Miller is and he fits our rangy defense a lot better than Miller who is a bad defender at this point.

We would have had a much better chance of beating Dallas last year with Jones instead of Miller.

As for those hoping to use Miller as a trade chip, he still won't be worth anything with his contract. He still has 4yr/24 mil left on his contract. That's bigger than a full MLE contract with the new CBA. There is no way he can outperform that contract in limited minutes and no one would take on 4 years of Miller and give us anything back. No one would even take that contract for free (cap space or a TE) even if he was playing well off the bench. Not for 4 more years of an injury prone player.

We should have amnestied him and added two more non-minimum guys who fit this team better and could stay healthy.

[DefenseWins]

GreenHat, people are saying Mike Miller will take JJ's minutes inevitably because Spo would put Miller in over a healthy James Jones when he was suffering concussions, broken hands and knee bruises.

Even after JJ won the 3 point contest, it's like Spo never gave him the time he deserves.

Only time JJ would get time is when, Mike Miller is out or can't play. And ... look at what is happening.

It's still mind boggling that Spo would expect Miller to be better than the 3 point champ with all that crap on his hands...

Even after JJ hit 5 3's against Boston in the 1st game. Still, no respect.

[EscapoTHB]

Spo won't be in a rush to get Mike back the way Jones and Harris are playing.

If Mike gets playing time I would think it will have to come out of Joel or our point guards' minutes, when we play an atypical lineup.

Like I could see a second unit of:
Cole
Miller
Jones
Battier
Haslem

At times.


It is going to be very hard to fit him in. Good problem to have though compared to last season. If nothing else maybe he'll show flashes of his old self, and up his trade value enough for us to deal him for a starting center.

[Mars]

...And a "healthy and confident" Miller has not existed in several years. That's why none of those teams were sad to see him go...

Miller's numbers the previous 3 seasons (MEM, MIN, WAS) before coming to Miami:

12.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.0 APG, .496 FG, .427 FG3, 33.7 MIN, 66 Games

With a pair of healthy hands, the one thing Miller can do is shoot and rebound. He'll be fine and the Heat will benefit. Particularly against zones.

[Miamis3rdRing]

I bash on Mike a ton but he's a better player than Battier, JJ, and Harris IF healthy (A big if) IMO.

That being said I trust Battier more, and JJ has been doing a great job. Even without Mike I'm satisfied with our SG/SF back-up's.

It'll be tough to get 3 out of the 4 playing time. One guy will definitely be out (Harris probably), and it wouldn't surprise me if JJ loses minutes as well.

Hopefully Spo finds a way to get guys minutes because we have a lot more capable players than last season. This is a good problem to have.

[GreenHat]

GreenHat, people are saying Mike Miller will take JJ's minutes inevitably because Spo would put Miller in over a healthy James Jones when he was suffering concussions, broken hands and knee bruises.

Even after JJ won the 3 point contest, it's like Spo never gave him the time he deserves.

Only time JJ would get time is when, Mike Miller is out or can't play. And ... look at what is happening.

It's still mind boggling that Spo would expect Miller to be better than the 3 point champ with all that crap on his hands...

Even after JJ hit 5 3's against Boston in the 1st game. Still, no respect.

Oh I agree Spo will probably play Miller a lot anyway. I'm just against them doing that.

...And a "healthy and confident" Miller has not existed in several years. That's why none of those teams were sad to see him go...

Miller's numbers the previous 3 seasons (MEM, MIN, WAS) before coming to Miami:

12.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.0 APG, .496 FG, .427 FG3, 33.7 MIN, 66 Games

With a pair of healthy hands, the one thing Miller can do is shoot and rebound. He'll be fine and the Heat will benefit. Particularly against zones.

You just went back four years. That was his last good year. FOUR YEARS AGO.

In his last 3 seasons Miller has been hurt every single year.

He played 30+ mins for Minnesota and put up below average numbers (13.8 PER, .086 WS/48) with crappy defense on a bad team. Minnesota didn't want to keep him.

Then he played 30+ mins for another bad team. He shot the 3 ball very well that year but was still below average (14 PER, .105 WS/48) even while shooting better than he ever will again and rebounding well. He also played bad defense. Washington didn't want to keep him.

Last year for us he still played bad defense but he started shooting poorly too. He rebounded well but at a Lebron level not at some kind of elite rebounding level.

Even if he can stay healthy and gets his shot back (both big ifs), Jones can shoot just as well if not better and he fits our rangy, athletic defense better. Not to mention he does so at a small fraction of the cost that we wasted on Miller.

Miller's supposedly good ball handling isn't needed on this team and besides that he turns the ball over too much for a secondary ballhandler.

The only positive he brings that helps us is his rebounding. But if the cost is poor defense, more turnovers and a shooter who is afraid to take open shots than that's not a good trade off for us.

[GreenHat]

Spo won't be in a rush to get Mike back the way Jones and Harris are playing.

If Mike gets playing time I would think it will have to come out of Joel or our point guards' minutes, when we play an atypical lineup.

Like I could see a second unit of:
Cole
Miller
Jones
Battier
Haslem

At times.


It is going to be very hard to fit him in. Good problem to have though compared to last season. If nothing else maybe he'll show flashes of his old self, and up his trade value enough for us to deal him for a starting center.

I would rather Joel and the PGs play more minutes, not less. And certainly not to give more minutes to Miller.

And no team is giving us a starting Center for Miller. No team would even trade a decent backup center for Miller with his contract that goes on for 4 more years.

[CablexDeadpool]

Green Hat is right

you gotta go back half a decade to even find a good Mike Miller sighting...dude just loss it.