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Patty Mills didn’t know what to expect after joining the Miami Heat a few weeks ago. The veteran guard didn’t know what his role would be and he didn’t know how the mid-season transition would go. But after not playing in his first game with the Heat, Mills entered Friday night’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans at Kaseya Center with double-digit minutes logged in seven straight games amid the team’s injury issues after that initial DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision).
He made his first start of the season and third start in the last two seasons in Wednesday’s road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in place of the injured Duncan Robinson. “The surprising part is how comfortable and quickly that I’ve been able to pick up on some stuff,” Mills said ahead of Friday’s game against the Pelicans. “Then after that, what can you do to impact the team in a positive way. I think that’s been probably the most surprising part, if anything.”
Mills, 35, has been a regular part of his team’s rotation for most of his NBA career. But that hasn’t always been the case in his 15th NBA season, as he received 36 DNP-CDs with the Atlanta Hawks this season before the Hawks waived him on Feb. 29 to free him up to eventually sign with the Heat. “Any time you get a chance to be on the floor, I think I’ve always had that mindset of how you can impact the game, how can you do things to make the team better,” said Mills, who signed a minimum contract on March 6 to join the Heat for the rest of the season. “I really think that there are things that are valued here, as you can see by the way this team has played and always played. I think that’s been the best part about it.”
