The old cliché goes, “So, what do you want first, the good news or the bad news?”
I’ll give you the bad news first. The Heat have made it official and announced Mike Miller had surgery yesterday afternoon to repair a broken thumb as well as ligament damage. According to the team he is likely to be out until at least January.
This is precisely what everyone seemed to envision when we heard about the freak injury and realized it would require surgery, so it’s not really shocking bad news. However, it does solidify the nature of that bad news.
There’s no longer any hope that this was simply something that looked worse than it was.
It was bad, and Miller won’t be playing with the team through some of its biggest regular season moments, such as the season opener against the Boston Celtics next Tuesday, the home opener next Friday against the Orlando Magic, the much anticipated matchup against the Cavaliers, or the Christmas Day game against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.
However, as I said in a previous article detailing the injury when it was first learned he’d sustained it, Heat fans shouldn’t hit the panic button. Miami still has the “Three Kings”, as well as plenty of firepower surrounding them.
Some people were even saying that James Jones was far better in the preseason and should have been coming in games ahead of Miller once the season started anyway. I wouldn’t go that far, but it is a fact Jones has begun to show exactly why the Heat picked up the Miami native in the first place.
Along with Jones, there’s a wealth of talent on the Miami Heat bench to supplement arguably the greatest trio of players to ever play on one team in the history of the association. With such talent, I think Miami can live through the loss of Miller for two months.
When he gets back, I’m sure he’ll provide even more weaponry to an arsenal the Heat will be fielding that will decimate the competition. Don’t look for Miami to just win games this season, folks, but instead look for them to destroy their opponents, with or without Miller, whether they’re the vaunted Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic, or the lowly Los Angeles Clippers.
There are just three more days till the season begins for Miami, and it’ll be tough to get through the anxious excitement all Heat fans feel till then. Yet, we’ll get through it, just as the boys from South Beach will get through the absence of Mike Miller till January.
Now for the good news, and I’m guessing you may have even forgotten there was some coming. That good news is good news indeed. According to management, Wade worked out with the team yesterday for the first time since he injured his right hamstring on October 5.
“It felt all right,” Dwyane said. “I’ve been working out and I’ve been in the gym, so today was no different, just another day to test my hamstring out even more. I’m feeling good. Ready to move on to the next day and get some practice under my belt so I can be ready for the opener.”
He’s expected to work out and practice with the team today, and as long as his hamstring continues to feel okay, he’ll be in the lineup for Miami on Tuesday against Boston.
“No setbacks, I’m there,” Wade said.
So, it looks like the big three for the Heat will be ready and revving to show the world just how good this South Beach Superteam can be.
Game On!
One other note regarding the Miller injury. Due to the fact they’ve lost Miller for a couple of months, the Heat have been looking to bring in another player and it’s looking like that player is going to be veteran swingman Jerry Stackhouse.