Ailene Voisin: Seattle's bruising play doesn't faze Miller
By Steve Kennedy
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, May 1, 2005
They play dirty, they play hard, but after missing the final 25 regular-season games because of a thigh contusion and fractured left leg, Brad Miller is donating his body to the cause.
Shove. Grab. Hold. Push. Trash talk.
Regardless of what Sonics enforcers Reggie Evans and Danny Fortson have in mind for Game 4 - and Miller anticipates more of a WWE encounter than a skills test - the Kings center plans another prolonged leap into the ring. He is prepared for anything. And while he prefers a more gentlemanly scrum, given the frustration of watching and waiting during his recent seven-week absence, the 7-foot-1, 261-pound veteran isn't averse to throwing elbows and verbal jabs of his own.
The Sonics as dirty players?
"There are a couple of them that are," suggested Miller with a sly smile. "Who do you think? It isn't hard to figure out. You can see what Danny (Fortson) does, but you can't see Reggie. (Evans) learned that from Iowa. That's exactly how they played in college. I've told him to his face ... the way he flops, grabs, holds. There's a line with athletes, and sometimes he goes over it. But that's his game. He plays hard and gets away with it."
Welcome back, Brad.
The Kings need a dose of nasty.
While not exactly a mirror image of the wide-bodied Sonics duo, Miller is hardly a cupcake. He speaks softly and plays with a bang. The familiar frown is a facade, the pretty passes and feathery jumpers misleading. This is a Marlboro man who would rather chew than inhale, who couldn't wait to get back in the saddle.
Those 25 games were painful for him, worse for the slumping Kings. Reserve Brian Skinner made an early impact defensively, but Rick Adelman's high-post offense relies heavily on a creative passing big man, and with Vlade Divac and Chris Webber having departed, Miller is the sole heir on the roster. His inside/outside balance has been integral to the Kings' successes these past two seasons, and when healthy, his physical presence significantly enhances current prospects for a prolonged series.
But with that left leg? Those healing muscles? The recovery will be completed during the offseason, not the current postseason.
"It feels like a muscle knot that gets tight," said Miller, who missed the first six games because of a thigh bruise. "So, hell, yeah, it's hard to get rebounds. I'm just trying to push those guys out as much as I can."
Toughness, of course, is not defined exclusively by the administering of bruises and body blows, and Miller's teammates are immensely appreciative of his diligent efforts to return. The mere mention of his name prompted an animated, impassioned recitation of his importance by Bobby Jackson, another recent veteran of the injured list.
"His passing, his banging, the way he pulls Jerome (James) out of the paint, you can't say too much about Brad," Jackson said. "If he was 100 percent, we'd be getting 10 rebounds from him every night. That's how you know he's not completely healthy. Rebounding comes from your legs. But he's giving us what he can, and we're a better team with him for sure."
Miller was excellent in the series opener - with seven points, four rebounds and three assists in eight minutes - and, like his teammates, struggled in Game 2. But his value - particularly on offense - was never more apparent than Friday night, when he converted three consecutive jumpers, tossed in a jump hook and found Mike Bibby for a 23-footer and 49-30 lead before leaving with his third foul.
With the offense-oriented Adelman turning to the undersized Skinner instead of Greg Ostertag - the burly 7-foot-2 backup center whose length and bulk bothered James in the opener - the 7-foot-1 Sonics center immediately exposed the Kings inside, with the margin shrinking to nine points at intermission.
Miller, whose frequent grousing about calls and noncalls appears to be incurring disfavor with the referees, returned and finished with 14 points and three rebounds in a whopping 35 minutes. And he wants more.
"I didn't come back to sit on the bench," he said. "Someone would have to do something extremely weird, something stupid, like kick (the leg), to really hurt it again, because it wasn't muscle. The bone healed." When it was posed that the Sonics might pull a Tonya Harding and take their best shot, Miller laughed. "I'm wearing a pad," he said, with a shrug. "I'll be fine."
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/12820011p-13670170c.html
By Steve Kennedy
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, May 1, 2005
They play dirty, they play hard, but after missing the final 25 regular-season games because of a thigh contusion and fractured left leg, Brad Miller is donating his body to the cause.
Shove. Grab. Hold. Push. Trash talk.
Regardless of what Sonics enforcers Reggie Evans and Danny Fortson have in mind for Game 4 - and Miller anticipates more of a WWE encounter than a skills test - the Kings center plans another prolonged leap into the ring. He is prepared for anything. And while he prefers a more gentlemanly scrum, given the frustration of watching and waiting during his recent seven-week absence, the 7-foot-1, 261-pound veteran isn't averse to throwing elbows and verbal jabs of his own.
The Sonics as dirty players?
"There are a couple of them that are," suggested Miller with a sly smile. "Who do you think? It isn't hard to figure out. You can see what Danny (Fortson) does, but you can't see Reggie. (Evans) learned that from Iowa. That's exactly how they played in college. I've told him to his face ... the way he flops, grabs, holds. There's a line with athletes, and sometimes he goes over it. But that's his game. He plays hard and gets away with it."
Welcome back, Brad.
The Kings need a dose of nasty.
While not exactly a mirror image of the wide-bodied Sonics duo, Miller is hardly a cupcake. He speaks softly and plays with a bang. The familiar frown is a facade, the pretty passes and feathery jumpers misleading. This is a Marlboro man who would rather chew than inhale, who couldn't wait to get back in the saddle.
Those 25 games were painful for him, worse for the slumping Kings. Reserve Brian Skinner made an early impact defensively, but Rick Adelman's high-post offense relies heavily on a creative passing big man, and with Vlade Divac and Chris Webber having departed, Miller is the sole heir on the roster. His inside/outside balance has been integral to the Kings' successes these past two seasons, and when healthy, his physical presence significantly enhances current prospects for a prolonged series.
But with that left leg? Those healing muscles? The recovery will be completed during the offseason, not the current postseason.
"It feels like a muscle knot that gets tight," said Miller, who missed the first six games because of a thigh bruise. "So, hell, yeah, it's hard to get rebounds. I'm just trying to push those guys out as much as I can."
Toughness, of course, is not defined exclusively by the administering of bruises and body blows, and Miller's teammates are immensely appreciative of his diligent efforts to return. The mere mention of his name prompted an animated, impassioned recitation of his importance by Bobby Jackson, another recent veteran of the injured list.
"His passing, his banging, the way he pulls Jerome (James) out of the paint, you can't say too much about Brad," Jackson said. "If he was 100 percent, we'd be getting 10 rebounds from him every night. That's how you know he's not completely healthy. Rebounding comes from your legs. But he's giving us what he can, and we're a better team with him for sure."
Miller was excellent in the series opener - with seven points, four rebounds and three assists in eight minutes - and, like his teammates, struggled in Game 2. But his value - particularly on offense - was never more apparent than Friday night, when he converted three consecutive jumpers, tossed in a jump hook and found Mike Bibby for a 23-footer and 49-30 lead before leaving with his third foul.
With the offense-oriented Adelman turning to the undersized Skinner instead of Greg Ostertag - the burly 7-foot-2 backup center whose length and bulk bothered James in the opener - the 7-foot-1 Sonics center immediately exposed the Kings inside, with the margin shrinking to nine points at intermission.
Miller, whose frequent grousing about calls and noncalls appears to be incurring disfavor with the referees, returned and finished with 14 points and three rebounds in a whopping 35 minutes. And he wants more.
"I didn't come back to sit on the bench," he said. "Someone would have to do something extremely weird, something stupid, like kick (the leg), to really hurt it again, because it wasn't muscle. The bone healed." When it was posed that the Sonics might pull a Tonya Harding and take their best shot, Miller laughed. "I'm wearing a pad," he said, with a shrug. "I'll be fine."
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/12820011p-13670170c.html
