Miller & Haslem Emerge For Heat
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – The Miami Heat have ridden the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh to within one game of the NBA Finals. But in the Eastern Conference Finals, they have had to have some help from two players who spent most of the year injured.
In Game 2, Udonis Haslem returned for his first significant action since tearing a ligament in his foot last November. Haslem entered at a time when the Heat were on the ropes and had been manhandled in the rebounding war and looked lethargic at times during the first quarter.
Haslem came in and played 23 minutes and poured in 13 points and 5 rebounds. While his stat line isn't overly impressive, his physical style of play and his key shots to stop Chicago runs gave the Heat enough life to wait for LeBron and Wade to bring the game home in the end.
In Game 4, it was Mike Miller who stepped up and gave the team a lift. He played over 26 minutes in the game and dropped 12 points and tied for the most rebounds on the team, coincidentally enough with Haslem.
Miller is an active defender and finally put down some key 3-point shots that the Heat expected him to do when he was signed as a free agent. He's battled injuries for most of the season, but when the Heat needed him to step up as Wade was having an awful game, Miller showed up.
And for Miller it's been an especially tough series as he's battling sleep deprivation after his wife delivered a baby last week. The week-old girl, Jaelyn, is in intensive care and fighting an illness suffered during complications with her delivery.
Miller has been playing and practicing and then hustling back to his wife's side as they stand watch over their little girl.
"She's still in ICU," Miller said, according to ESPN.com. "She had some complications. But it's going to be all right. She's a fighter. She's the most important thing I'm thinking about right now."
Miller and Haslem have used their bond that developed when they were roommates at the University of Florida to help each other through a tough season.
Haslem and Miller's emergence in the Eastern Conference Finals has finally given the nation a look at what Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra envisioned when they put the Heat together last July. It's an impressive rotation of 8 players who have brought the Heat within one game of the NBA Finals.
And if you don't think Riley is enjoying it, you should go back and watch the overtime period on the TNT broadcast. TNT cameras caught Riley after Dwyane Wade blocked a shot in overtime and he and LeBron dove for the ball to keep it with the Heat. Riley had a grin from ear to ear knowing that he had put together the best three players in the league on one team.
