Could Mike Miller Play in the Playoffs?
By Luke Sicari
Mike Miller has been quite the disappointment for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. Brought in during the off-season to provide some valuable three-point shooting and floor spacing, it was to most people’s belief that Miller would be a solid role player in Cleveland. It was fair to assume this, as Miller played in every game for the Memphis Grizzlies last season and put up 7.1 points a game while shooting an excellent 45.9% from downtown. Miller looked like he had rejuvenated his career and he was expected to play a key role in the Cavalier rotation.
This hasn’t been the case though, as Miller’s age of 35 has really showed, his shooting number are down across the board and he is completely out of David Blatt’s regular rotation. Miller is averaging a putrid 2.1 points a game this season, while shooting 33.3% from three-point land and an even worse 32.4% from the field. Miller’s shot has looked out of rhythm, even in garbage time and it has looked like his struggled to run up and down the court at time.
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So while Miller has had probably the worst season of the career, is it crazy to think that he may make an impact, albeit a slight one, come playoff time?
No.
I’m not going to smother you with analytics and stats from Miller’s regular season because quite frankly, it isn’t pretty. Miller’s impact will be made without looking deep into Basketball Reference or SportVU data.
Take the Cavaliers recent 99-90 loss to the Boston Celtics for example. In a meaningless game for the Cavs, as they have already clinched the Central Division title and the number two seed in the Eastern Conference, Blatt shuffled with some unique line-ups. One of those line-ups included a Matthew Dellavedova/Miller/LeBron James/Kevin Love/Tristan Thompson unit mid-way through the third quarter. As Cleveland was making a comeback, Miller showed how he could potentially help the squad come playoff time.
Three three-pointers by Miller, one at the 4:13 mark of the quarter, one at the 3:17 mark and the final one at the 39.5 second mark, gave the players and the fans for that matter, a spark. On the first three, it was beautiful fast-break execution from Cleveland. After James rebounded a Celtics miss, he quickly dribbled to about half-court. As James was pacing down the court, he spotted a relatively open Love on the right wing who, instead of pulling up, turned a good shot into a great one, as he alertly whipped the ball to the opposite wing to Miller, who calmly drained the open triple.
The next three-pointer from Miller occurred after a made mid-range jumper from Brandon Bass. Dellavedova brought the ball up, who passed to Love on the perimeter. As all of this was happening, Miller made his way from the left wing down to the right corner. Marcus Smart, Miller’s man at the time, slowly moved near the paint, which left Miller wide open in the corner. Love quickly threw the ball to Miller in the corner and bang, another three-ball down for Miller.
The final long ball from Miller take place after some Celtics free-throws by Jae Crowder. As James made his down the court, Miller, again guarded by Smart, drifted to the right corner. Thompson came to set a pick on James and then rolled to the basket. As Thompson rolled, Smart went to rotate on Thompson, once again leaving Miller open in the corner. James made the easy pass to Miller for yet another triple for the Cavaliers.
James knows the importance of the three-ball that Miller brings, as he said after the Cavs loss to the Celtics, per cavs.com
"“I think it’s good for anyone to see the ball go through the net – no matter how great of a shooter you are like Mike Miller and James Jones and those guys. To see the ball go through the net and meaningful minutes like it was in the third quarter, it was big time for himself, I know it as well. I was happy to be out there with him.”"
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These three plays illustrate how Miller could make a positive impact for the Cavs in the playoffs. Teams are going to shut down your first, second and third options in the playoffs. Some of the rotation guys are going to need to step up for the Cavaliers and Miller could potentially be one of them. Also, even if Miller isn’t getting shots, it just creates another shooter the opposition needs to worry about, which in turn just spaces the floor better for the Cavaliers. Cleveland only needs about 10 productive minutes a night from Miller. Heck, he probably won’t even play in some playoff games. This doesn’t mean though that Miller won’t hit some key shots if needed come playoff time.
Do you expect Mike Miller to have an impact in the NBA Playoffs?