Chris Bosh understands the effect that standing around can have on a player’s game.
Inactivity has a way of negatively affecting the rest of a well-rounded game, and quite often, that player’s shooting touch is among the first things to go.
“Sometimes you just need to feel the ball,”
Bosh said.
“Feel the ball, dribble it, kick it, pass it — do something. And then, next thing you know, it’s just feeling good in your hands, your fingers are strong and you’re ready to shoot the ball. Sometimes you need a bunch of different opportunities.”
Bosh’s lack of opportunities eventually convinced him to speak out and make sure that changed.
Mike Miller hasn’t said anything about his role — publicly or privately. But he has experienced the same lack of touches lately. In March, he is shooting just 32 percent from three-point range, 37 percent overall. He has hit only four of his last 18 from beyond the arc over an eight-game stretch.
Those aren’t the numbers the Heat is expecting from one of the deadliest three-point shooters in the league over the past decade. But Miller also has been playing an entirely different role with the Heat than he has with any of the four teams he previously played for. He’s doing a lot more spotting up a lot less ball-handling and playing far less minutes.
Like Bosh has experienced this season, Miller’s inactivity has affected his production. But with Mario Chalmers out for at least two weeks, and with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s desire to get Miller more comfortable and involved, Miller’s role will likely expand in upcoming games.
“Mike is much more than a spot-up shooter, and he always has been,”
said Spoelstra, who added that Eddie House also has been working on initiating offense. “He’s a player. He’s defined by making plays.“
“Offensively, he’s always been a guy that’s been counted on to make plays, not just stand in the corner and receive passes at the end of the clock, which are tough, home run plays. His role is different with us.
We can’t get around that. But we can get him more involved, more engaged in the game.”
In recent games, Miller has been the point man in pick-and-roll plays, with some positive results. And against the Hawks last Friday, Miller spent most of the fourth quarter as the point-forward, initiating plays in the Heat victory.
“He has an IQ, so he understands what we’re looking for,” Spoelstra said. “He thinks like a point guard, and it also gets him involved in the game.”
Miller said running pick-and-rolls come easy to him because it’s the way he’s always played. And he expects positive results from any additional touches he gets.
“It definitely helps,” Miller said. “It’s mental, but it’s also rhythm. You get moving off screens and you make plays, all of a sudden you get in spots where you hit shots. When you turn into a standstill shooter and you get shots once every 14, 15 minutes, it’s tough.”
INJURY UPDATE
Spoelstra said Joel Anthony went to a doctor Tuesday to “get some stuff pulled out of his nose” after he was hit in the face in a recent game.
Spoelstra said the only real concern was whether Anthony could fly with the sinus problem, but after visiting the doctor, Anthony was cleared to travel to Detroit and should play.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who had a foot infection, didn’t travel, but will be back in basketball shoes Wednesday and able to practice with the team when it returns.
Udonis Haslem, meanwhile, was on the practice court after his teammates cleared out, taking his limited number of shots as he progresses in his return from a torn Lisfranc ligament in his left foot.
