Filed under: Heat, NBA Injuries
MIAMI -- The Miami Heat finally put their losing streak behind them with a victory over the Toronto Raptors, yet the most important development for the team Saturday night was on a far more personal level. The sudden, Phoenix-like resurrection of Mike Miller, virtually handpicked by the Heat's superstar trio last summer to join them, with a game that featured scintillating 6-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc en route to 32 points as well as 10 rebounds in 33 minutes of work made for a memorable reintroduction to the Heat fans at the AmericanAirlines Arena.Indeed, he hadn't even managed to score a field goal in Miami during a wobbly start after coming back from a major hand injury just before the regular season started.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra brought him along slowly, hesitant to break the continuity that was yielding superior results with James Jones as his featured gunner off the bench, even as many questioned him for not speeding up the process. After the slow start, fans and media alike began questioning if Miller was going to be able to contribute much for the rest of the season.
"Some of this takes time," insisted Spoelstra. "I've been saying this over and over. We live in a microwave society so I get it, I understand it. You've been out and you come back into an NBA season full speed in January where it's very competitive. It's not as easy as people think and there has to be a process there and I want it to happen on a healthy level. I'm sure it was frustrating for him at times and frustrating for the fans who wanted it to happen quicker."
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Source: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2011/01/24/mike-millers-slow-steady-recovery-pays-off/
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