Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade and Mike Miller Back on Court

Via twitter, the Miami Heat organization and their fans were welcomed to some delightfully similar news from both their perennial All-Star Dwyane Wade and three-point specialist Mike Miller.

After undergoing knee surgery July 9th for a “cleaning”, Wade recently went out to twitter to voice his progress and where he’s currently at in his recovery:

"‘Whew..first day on the court since my surgery..oh and that look on my face was b4 the workout started..haa.’"

Dwyane is back on the court for the Heat and not a moment too soon. Although the season opener isn’t until October 30th, training camp starts September 29th and the Heat would love to have Dwyane playing at 100 percent prior to then. Heat training camps are notoriously intense and even one of the key reasons behind the Heat winning a championship won’t get him out of the rigorous workout regiment he will compete in for a month.

Mike Miller, the oft-injured perimeter specialist, also tweeted out some exciting news:

"“Gr8week being back in the gym FINALLY Way 2long of a layoff slowlybutsurely feelN better Feels good getting ready 4 another year #LETITFLY”"

This is just as good as news for the Heat than hearing Wade’s recovery on schedule. Because Miller has been hurt for seemingly his entire tenure with the Heat up to this point, this may be the first time Miami actually has a relatively healthy Mike Miller heading into the regular season. He missed the first two months of the 2010-’11 season due to a thumb injury and then missed the first few weeks of the 2011-’12 season recovering from sports hernia surgery.

Even through all of the injuries and underachieving play, the Heat decided to forgo using their amnesty clause.

Although Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis will replace Miller’s role as the main three-point threats, it would still be a huge boost for the Heat to have two premier perimeter specialists on the floor. Miller has proven that he’s capable of going off for games like Game 5 against Oklahoma City, but his body just hasn’t allowed him to do so on a consistent basis. Miller missed 41 games his first year with the Heat, then following it with 17 missed games in his second year.

He contemplated undergoing back surgery over the summer that might have put an end to his career, but decided to continue playing through the pain; so much pain that he must lay on his back while on the bench. It’s obvious to see that Miller is hurt whenever he’s on the floor. The way he hobbles up and down court is inspiring and admirable, but it’s also painful to watch because you know of how much he’s gone through.

With Allen on the team, Miller should see his role reduced, which just might be for the better. Miller will still be ailing at the beginning of the season, but could find himself healthier by the end of the year if he gets enough rest and the basketball god’s allow the stars to align. Either way, Miller is going to play and that’s all he wants to do, which is why he didn’t get the surgery that would have caused him to miss the entire season and put his career in jeopardy.

Miller will be turning 33-years-old in February.