It’s official, Mike Miller is starting for the Miami Heat in place of Udonis Haslem in Game 4.
We told you it might be coming and Erik Spoelstra dodged making the announcement as long as he could, but you have to set your lineups with the officials and the starters have to be named. So we know for sure.
There is some real logic to doing this — they need the shooting and the floor spacing more than they need the little defense and rebounding Haslem brings at this point. This five-man lineup — Mario Chalmers, Dwyane Wade, Mike Miller, LeBron James and Chris Bosh — played 52 minutes together all of the regular season and 22 here in the playoffs, reports Cooper Moorhead of Heat.com. But the lineup also worked, it was +18.5 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs and +22.5 per 100 in the regular season.
But the Spurs are giving up rebounding and that was an issue last game.
But I have long said that the first coach to make a major change in rotation or strategy in a series is the one that knows he is beat and is now throwing anything up to see what works. Every once in a while it does, but it is not a good sign if you are a Heat fan.