Veteran and former All-Star Brad Miller is no stranger to the starting lineup – he’s opened for Charlotte, Indiana, Sacramento and Chicago during his eleven-year NBA tenure. Last week Miller returned to the Bulls’ starting five to give center Joakim Noah some time to recoup from a nagging foot injury as the final leg of the playoff race approaches.
Noah has been struggling with plantar fasciitis of the left foot since the end of January and will not return to the court until after the All-Star break so we can expect Miller’s minutes and productivity to increase significantly. Miller started Friday against the Hawks and played 40 minutes to pick up 10 points and 5 rebounds. In Saturday’s win over the Heat his minutes went down but his productivity increased: he put up 13 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in 36 minutes, which is close to Noah’s season average of 11.2 ppg and 12 rpg in 32 minutes.
Miller has done a good job coming off the bench for the Bulls this season. If Noah remains sidelined Miller must continue to step up his game and be a major contributor if the Bulls are going to stay in the hunt for one of the last spots in the Eastern Conference playoffs. It’s a short week but Miller will get a couple games in before the All-Star break.
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