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Report: Miami Heat Interested in Free Agent…

RosieScaianonq — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:57:45 +0000

The Miami Heat could be interested in signing former Memphis Grizzlies small forward Shane Battier, according to a report from The Miami Herald.

The 6-foot-8 former Duke star does not fill the Heat’s need at center, but he is an attractive option for a short-term deal — especially since he is a career 38.5 percent shooter from beyond the arc, who has made 100 or more 3-pointers in five of his 10 NBA seasons.

TNT basketball analyst Steve Kerr said off-air, “Battier would be the best fit — when you play Dwyane Wade or LeBron James at the point, you want a three-man who can shoot.”

The only major problem is the presence of Mike Miller. The 6-foot-8 former Grizzly was supposed to be the Heat’s go-to 3-point specialist last season, but Miller only hit 43 3-pointers, compared to Battier’s 102. Miller, however, is under contract through the 2014-15 season.

If the Heat do go after Battier once the lockout is settled, the forward would certainly burn into Miller’s minutes because of the defensive capabilities that he brings to the court — capabilities Miller decidedly does not.

And as everyone got to see in the NBA Finals (that is, when the Heat weren’t melting down), head coach Erik Spoelstra likes his guys to play defense first, second and third. Then, and only then, can they think about putting the ball in the basket. Battier is definitely a fit for that type of system.

Of course, at 32 years old, Battier is no longer a spring chicken, and with more pressing needs at guard and center, it remains to be seen how strongly the Heat will go after him.

There is the quick update of the day.

Miami Heat Player Mike Miller Balances Family, Basketball

Inselosot — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:40:36 +0000

An NBA star who made a life-changing donation five years ago to assist sick children is now the one receiving help for his newborn baby’s health problems.

“You fast-forward four, five years from then and I’m in the exact same situation, and people in the ICU are helping me deal with the same exact situations that I was helping people with,” Miami Heat forward Mike Miller said.

Call it fate, or fortune, or karma, but back in 2007, Miller and his wife Jennifer just called it a gift — $1 million to a children’s hospital in his native South Dakota.

“We were blessed with two healthy children and just felt that that was something that was from our hearts that we wanted to do for the area where Michael was from,” Jennifer Miller said.

The hospital named its pediatric intensive care unit after the Millers and life went on.

But then this past fall, Jennifer found out she was pregnant with the couple’s third child, their first girl.

She was set to deliver in the middle of the Eastern Conference Finals, when the Heat were facing the Chicago Bulls.

“We came back from Chicago after Game 2. Flew in about 4:30 in the morning. Went straight to the hospital. They induced her,” Mike Miller said. “We had Jaelyn and they brought her out and the umbilical cord was so tight around her neck that she wasn’t getting blood.”

Doctors told the Millers that their 6-pound baby was struggling to breathe.

Even worse, she had five holes in her heart, including one so large it might require cracking open her chest for surgery.

“I got to hold her for a few seconds, then they whisked her away. And that was pretty hard,” Jennifer Miller said.

“It’s just scary,” Mike Miller said. “They wanted the baby’s heart rate for a minute to be between 40 and 50, and she was north of 100.”

Baby Jaelyn stabilized, but for the next 10 days remained in intensive care.

Miller, who’d been waiting his entire 11-year NBA career for a chance at a championship, began shuttling back and forth between the arena and his baby’s bedside.

“I missed practices. The whole Chicago series is a blur, really. So it was show up and play as hard as you can, wish for the best, and go right back to the hospital,” he said.

“I think it was pretty tough for him trying to balance both. And he really wanted to be there with us. So it was difficult,” his wife said. “I kept telling him, and the nurses, too, it was so funny they kept telling him: ‘Go, you need to go to practice, just go.’”

Miller was exhausted, playing with his hospital bracelet around his wrist, but he was still a key component in the Heat advancing to the NBA Finals, sharpshooting from all over the floor.

But shortly afterward, the best news came: Jaelyn was well enough to go home.

Friends called it karma. Once again, the Millers just called it a gift.

“It’s great to be in our own house and just relax and not have all the tubes and wires connected to her. Just enjoy our time together as a family,” Jennifer Miller said. “It’s been tough, but it’s made us stronger.”

Jaelyn will be re-evaluated over the next three months to see if she will eventually require heart surgery.

“We have to monitor her 24 hours a day, make sure she’s all right and constant doctor visits,” Mike Miller said. “But just to have her home is a blessing.”

Meanwhile, the NBA star is continuing to raise money to help care for other sick children. To find out more, go to mikemiller33.com

Not much else going on in the NBA world today.

NBA: Light practice for three Miami Heat players

okellevopelpcp — Mon, 30 May 2011 12:23:53 +0000

Heat star Dwyane Wade and reserves Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller and James Jones were held out of contact portions of Sunday’s practice in Miami.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says they all will practice fully Monday. Miami hosts Game 1 of the NBA finals against Dallas on Tuesday night.

Spoelstra says the moves were given to ensure that everyone is “healthy going into this.” The Heat spent time on drills Sunday and Spoelstra says Miami’s installation of a game plan for the Mavericks is on schedule.

Wade’s health was a discussion topic during the Eastern Conference finals, when he was receiving treatment on his left shoulder. The 2006 NBA finals MVP downplayed a question about injuries on Sunday, and the team expects him to be fully ready for Game 1.

Miller is already celebrating, and the finals have not even started. The Heat forward and his wife brought home newborn daughter Jaelyn from a South Florida hospital on Saturday afternoon, about two weeks after the baby arrived. Jaelyn had spent some time in the pediatric intensive care unit with four holes in her heart — the condition is called a ventricular septal defect, Miller said — and is now doing much better. At least one of the holes has closed, doctors said.

“Obviously, that’s my main concern right now,” Miller said. “She’s doing a lot better, which is big.”

Jaelyn will have a series of doctor’s appointments in the coming days, the first of those scheduled for

Tuesday, hours before her father and the rest of the Heat host the Mavericks in Game 1 of the finals.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

Miami Heat’s Spoelstra can finally mix his lineups more

ksc.cver — Sat, 21 May 2011 06:10:54 +0000

Nearly seven months after this journey started, the Heat is finally whole.

The upshot is that Miamis bench, maligned for months, suddenly has a more formidable look. And coach Erik Spoelstra has several intriguing lineup options as the Heat prepares for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday.

Udonis Haslems splendid performance against Chicago on Wednesday, coupled with Mike Millers seven-rebound, high-energy effort, allow Spoelstra to be less reliant on his natural centers and natural point guards if he chooses, and better equipped to mix and match personnel in ways he couldnt since Haslems foot injury in November.

Hes the heartbeat of this team, Dwyane Wade said of Haslem.

With Haslem and Miller joining LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Wade late in the third quarter and for the first 5:23 of the fourth in Game 2, it marked the first time that group played together since the preseason.

We talked about that on the plane when we were watching tape, James said. Its the first time this lineup that we envisioned finally happened.

Or, as Spoelstra said, It only took us 95 games to get to that point. It reminded me of our training camp at the Air Force base. The unit, which was outscored 8-4 in Game 2, gives us some versatility, some rebounding, some skill.

Bosh expects a heavy dose of that lineup in upcoming games.

Haslem sat out practice Friday to give him more rest, two days after producing the most uplifting 13-point, five-rebound game in Heat history. Miller missed practice because his wife is expecting a baby. Both will be ready for Game 3.

Playing with Miller, his former roommate at the University of Florida, was a great feeling, Haslem said. It was part of the reason we came here together. Ive been wanting to have an opportunity to play with Mike again since college. I was bending down the lane, he hit me for a dunk it was just like college.

Because of their good work Wednesday, Spoelstras options have expanded. Among them:

• Using Bosh more at center, paired with Haslem. Joel Anthony figures to remain the starting center, but there is less need to play Jamaal Magloire or Juwan Howard much, barring foul trouble.

When Haslem and Bosh were on the court together in November, the Heat outscored its opponents by 42 points in 150 minutes. (Theyre minus-5 in 21 playoff minutes.) And Bosh said hes more comfortable playing center now.

We dont necessarily need Udonis to score for us to be effective, Spoelstra said. Its all the other little things he does. Well see how he responds in the next game. Well give him some more minutes.

Haslems return also allows the Heat to not over-extend Anthony, who played 30 minutes in Game 1 but only 22 in Game 2. TNTs Steve Kerr said Anthony is best playing about 22 minutes per game.

Going longer minutes without a natural point guard. Spoelstra had done that some in previous games, because Wade and James obviously can handle the ball and initiate the offense.

But that option might be more appealing now at times, because playing Miller instead of Mario Chalmers gives Miami more size and rebounding against a team that creates problems with both.

Mike impacted the game defensively and on the glass, Spoelstra said of his 18 minutes. That earned him some more time.

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Miami Heat shooters get wide-open shots, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy to make

paingumma — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 22:40:53 +0000

By Ethan J. Skolnick

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

MIAMI â€” When the Heat started looking for long-range scorers last summer to complement the Big 3, Dennis Scott was a decade too old to get a call. So the former NBA sharpshooter made one to his mother.

“I got mad at her,” said Scott, now an NBA TV analyst. “I said, ‘Mom, you had me a few years too early.’ “

Scott, 42, did get to play in Orlando with Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway when both demanded maximum attention from the defense.

“The reason my nickname was 3-D was because of making wide-open three-point shots out of double teams in transition,” he said.

While Scott thrived in that role and enjoyed it, the Heat’s primary long-range shooters – Mike Miller, James Jones and Mike Bibby – have found it disconcerting to shoot almost exclusively from a stand-still position with defenders nowhere nearby.

“I really don’t like how open (the shots) are, to tell you the truth,” Bibby said shortly after he signed in March. “I’d rather be rushed a little bit where you can be a rhythm shooter. It’s so wide open that you have to knock them down.”

Bibby adjusted quickly, connecting on 48.6 percent of his three-pointers for Miami. The Heat overall is seventh in the league in three-point percentage at 36.9, but that doesn’t mean Miami’s open shooters have had it easy.

“No, that’s fiction,” said Philadelphia shooting specialist Lou Williams. “When you’re wide open, there’s too much time to think, and worry about other stuff besides making the shot. So I would say a contested shot is a lot easier for me, because it makes me focus. Yeah, it’s backwards.”

LeBron James – whose presence creates so many uncovered opportunities for Miller, Jones, Bibby, Mario Chalmers and Eddie House – understands.

“Whenever I have new teammates, it’s a harder adjustment at the beginning, because they’re not used to getting so many open looks,” he said.

Daniel Gibson has had to make a different kind of adjustment. He joined James in Cleveland as a second-round pick in 2007, and he made a name playing off the star.

This season, with James gone?

“I’ve definitely had to work more for it,” Gibson said. “I’ve gotten a lot more off the dribble, a lot more off set plays, as opposed to him doing a lot of the work and me standing there and just knocking it down.”

Gibson has appreciated the chance to expand his game. He noted, “I am shooting pretty much the same percentage that I did when he was here,” 41.1 percent from beyond the arc compared to 42.1 percent.

While Gibson “won’t say I wouldn’t rather have an open look,” he referenced the “fine line” between one with a defender running out late and one “with all the time in the world.” Heat shooters often encounter the latter. And, on those, Gibson cites the same issues as Bibby and Williams, from over-thinking to the overwhelming assumption of accuracy that leads to extra pressure.

Gibson also validates one of Miller’s assertions, that rhythm can be elusive with limited opportunities. Miller has been accustomed to more touches throughout his career, especially on the move.

“You might not get one for possession, possession, possession, and then you get one where there’s no one within 20 feet of you, and you don’t have a good feel for the ball,” Gibson said. “You haven’t really got that rhythm. On a team like I’m on now, you are able to take a couple in the first half, a couple in the second half, and great shooters will eventually knock them down. Even if you’re having a bad night, you’ll eventually work your way out of it.”

When the Heat was in Atlanta last month, Scott sought out Miller and Jones.

Miller, injured much of the season, is shooting only 36.4 percent on three-pointers. Jones has a career-high 113 three-pointers,but his percentage (.420) is only 42nd in the league.

Scott’s advice to the Heat’s shooters?

“If a guy is that far from you,” Scott said, extending his arm halfway, “you have to shoot. You have to.”

Scott said he understood Jones’ challenge on catch-and-shoots in the corner.

“You’re sitting there salivating, hurry up and get it to me, hurry up and get it to me, and then you rush it,” Scott said.

Not much else going on in the NBA world today.

Heat’s Miller out vs. Cavaliers

remeOnedeby — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 18:17:38 +0000

CLEVELAND â€“ Miami Heat reserve forward Mike Miller is going to miss at least one game with a bruised knee.

Miller is traveling with the team, but will not play in Tuesday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Coach Erik Spoelstra said after the morning shootaround that Miller will sit so his knee can “calm down.” Spoelstra does not yet know if Miller, averaging 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in his first season with Miami, will miss any additional time.