mike miller hurt for miami

[Fafnir]

Against Boston it makes sense, against the Orlando it makes sense, against Chicago it makes sense, etc...

It only makes some sense against Boston because of Rondo's shooting woes.  But against Jameer Nelson, Rose and most other PG who can hit a jumper, it's a recipe for disaster.

Mike

Who do you think is a better defender of PGs: Chalmers, Arroyo, or Wade?

Who do you want to spend all their energy chasing around opposing PGs?  Not to mention that if Wade is guarding the 1, who's going to guard the 2?  You think Miller can match up with Ray, Vince Carter, Kobe, Andrew Iguodala, Joe Johnson, etc?

Mike

This isn't going to be their lineup for 35+ minutes a game though. Wade will take the great threat of the 1/2, LeBron will take the greater of the 2/3, and Miller gets whomever is left.

I don't get why you're so vehment they'll never use this lineup. It gets their best players on the floor!

[hpantazo]

Against Boston it makes sense, against the Orlando it makes sense, against Chicago it makes sense, etc...

It only makes some sense against Boston because of Rondo's shooting woes.  But against Jameer Nelson, Rose and most other PG who can hit a jumper, it's a recipe for disaster.

Mike

Who do you think is a better defender of PGs: Chalmers, Arroyo, or Wade?

Who do you want to spend all their energy chasing around opposing PGs?  Not to mention that if Wade is guarding the 1, who's going to guard the 2?  You think Miller can match up with Ray, Vince Carter, Kobe, Andrew Iguodala, Joe Johnson, etc?

Mike

I don't understand that logic. Should you then just play inferior players so that your stars don't have to play defense? Defense wins championships. I don't remember Phil Jackson ever putting in poor players so that Jordan and Pippen wouldn't have to "get worn out" playing defense. In fact, Jordan and Pippen terrorized teams with their defense as much as their offense. Wade and Lebron should be able to do the same.

I mean, should we sit Rondo and KG more often so that they don't get worn out playing defense, while they watch the opponent score at will against Nate and Glen Davis?

[MBunge]

Against Boston it makes sense, against the Orlando it makes sense, against Chicago it makes sense, etc...

It only makes some sense against Boston because of Rondo's shooting woes.  But against Jameer Nelson, Rose and most other PG who can hit a jumper, it's a recipe for disaster.

Mike

Who do you think is a better defender of PGs: Chalmers, Arroyo, or Wade?

Who do you want to spend all their energy chasing around opposing PGs?  Not to mention that if Wade is guarding the 1, who's going to guard the 2?  You think Miller can match up with Ray, Vince Carter, Kobe, Andrew Iguodala, Joe Johnson, etc?

Mike

This isn't going to be their lineup for 35+ minutes a game though. Wade will take the great threat of the 1/2, LeBron will take the greater of the 2/3, and Miller gets whomever is left.

I don't get why you're so vehment they'll never use this lineup. It gets their best players on the floor!

I didn't say they'll never use the line up.  It's just that, taking a look at the two other top contender in the East, it results in Miller guarding either Rondo, Ray or Pierce or Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter or Rashard Lewis.  Miller's not a terrible defensive player, but he will get destroyed in any of those match ups.

My argument is simply that Miller is far less important to Miami than Haslem and that the Heat are likely going to wish they'd spent that 5 million dollars on a quality third big instead of a back up 2/3.

Mike

[MBunge]

Against Boston it makes sense, against the Orlando it makes sense, against Chicago it makes sense, etc...

It only makes some sense against Boston because of Rondo's shooting woes.  But against Jameer Nelson, Rose and most other PG who can hit a jumper, it's a recipe for disaster.

Mike

Who do you think is a better defender of PGs: Chalmers, Arroyo, or Wade?

Who do you want to spend all their energy chasing around opposing PGs?  Not to mention that if Wade is guarding the 1, who's going to guard the 2?  You think Miller can match up with Ray, Vince Carter, Kobe, Andrew Iguodala, Joe Johnson, etc?

Mike

I don't understand that logic. Should you then just play inferior players so that your stars don't have to play defense? Defense wins championships. I don't remember Phil Jackson ever putting in poor players so that Jordan and Pippen wouldn't have to "get worn out" playing defense. In fact, Jordan and Pippen terrorized teams with their defense as much as their offense. Wade and Lebron should be able to do the same.

I don't understand the logic of treating actual NBA basketball like it was fantasy basketball and just throw a bunch of stat producers on the court and expect it to work.

For example, who was on the court with Jordan and Pippen?  Was it another 2/3 while they won all those titles?  No, it was PGs like BJ Armstrong, Jim Paxson and Steve Kerr.

The point defensively is not that Wade isn't a great defender, it's that there's a difference between between defending a 2 and defending a 1.  I don't know why that's hard to understand.

Mike

[xmuscularghandix]

I don’t know if anyone’s surprised about Miller being hurt. I feel like he hasn’t really played in years. In 05-06 he wins the 6th man award, then two 22-win seasons, then trapped in Minnesotta, then hurt for a huge chunk last year...  That’s literally 5 years of completely unimportant irrelevant basketball.

[LarBrd33]

Is Wade even hurt?  I kinda expect him to play opening night.  I've been under the impression they faked his injury to create more hype for opening night.

[footey]

west is suspemded the first 10 games due to his weapons chargers.  JO im not sure i thought i remember hearing it was questionable. i hope he plays

Doc said he wasn't sure how much JO would give them opening night. So judging by that, I would see he is probable, but likely limited.

Let the Semih Erden era begin.

[guava_wrench]

Wow. Miller out until January acc to ESPN.

[rondohondo]

Wow. Miller out until January acc to ESPN.

Yea I just saw that. That's going to be a huge loss for Miami. They have no wings off the bench now which means Lebron and Wade will each be playing 40+ mins a night.

This also helps the c's chances of getting home court over Miami in the playoffs.

[Tai]

Is Wade even hurt?  I kinda expect him to play opening night.  I've been under the impression they faked his injury to create more hype for opening night.

To be quite honest, your logic is silly.

[guava_wrench]

Is Wade even hurt?  I kinda expect him to play opening night.  I've been under the impression they faked his injury to create more hype for opening night.

To be quite honest, your logic is silly.

People have some weird ideas.

How does someone even come up with these ideas unless they have questionable integrity themselves.

[GreenEnvy]

Wow. Miller out until January acc to ESPN.

Yea I just saw that. That's going to be a huge loss for Miami. They have no wings off the bench now which means Lebron and Wade will each be playing 40+ mins a night.

This also helps the c's chances of getting home court over Miami in the playoffs.

This is the first thing I thought about. This injury can have a much bigger impact than just Miller going down for a few months.

If the Celtics decide to push hard for that number one spot early and jump out to a big lead over Miami, that could set up Orlando-Miami in the second round, which would be a great spot for the C's. That could shake up everything.

Adding Stackhouse or whomever they decide upon will not help this team much. They have no decent backup 2-3, no good PG in general, and are weak up front.

They aren't getting anyone's sympathy though.

Shall we start the countdown for Spoelstra? He's a sitting duck.

[fairweatherfan]

Wow. Miller out until January acc to ESPN.

Big blow to a team that largely has never played together.  Miami won't have its full rotation playing together until at least 2011.  And Miller being out means Wade, LeBron, and Bosh will have to play more minutes and shoulder more of the scoring load, which could lead to them wearing down as well.

I never root for injuries but I can't say I'm upset to see a new obstacle in their way. 

[nba is the worst]

Is Wade even hurt?  I kinda expect him to play opening night.  I've been under the impression they faked his injury to create more hype for opening night.

To be quite honest, your logic is silly.

People have some weird ideas.

How does someone even come up with these ideas unless they have questionable integrity themselves.

Another couple of people have posted elsewhere that it was faked to allow time for his custody case.

Regardless, I have no doubt that he starts on Tuesday as the heat lose by something like 103-90 (that would be a nice omen)...

Miller's defense in the preseason games has been surprisingly good - Stack can't possibly fill his shoes on either side of the ball...

[cornbreadsmart]

     I'm not happy about the Miller injury but I'm not sad either. It's all about who wins, no matter who plays.We have our own health to worry about as do the Lakers with Bynum. I used to want to play every team at full force, I guess i still do, but I just want that win on opening night! Go C'S!
     I'm so proud to be a Celtic fan,so proud of their effort last year in the Finals. Man, I wish i could be there! Kick their butts! Wow.I sound like Shooter Flatch.