Position: G
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 200
Born: 3/19/1976, in Los Angeles, CA, USA
High School: Verbum Dei, in Los Angeles, CA
College: Utah
Drafted: 1999, 1st round (8th overall)
Jersey No: #24
Where Is He Now : Denver Nuggets starting point guard
CAREER CAVALIER STATS
Year.......... G ..MPG FG% FT% 3P% OPG DPG .RPG APG .BPG SPG TPG FPG.. PPG
1999-2000 82 25.5 .449 .774 .204 1.04 2.38 3.41 5.80 0.21 1.0 2.02 2.37 11.1
2000-2001 82 34.7 .452 .833 .266 1.15 3.24 4.39 8.01 0.34 1.5 3.23 2.79 15.8
2001-2002 81 37.3 .454 .817 .253 1.33 3.35 4.68 10.89 0.42 1.6 3.02 2.81 16.5
Totals....... 245 32.5 .452 .812 .245 1.17 3.0 4.16 8.22 0.32 1.3 2.76 2.66 14.5
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS : Would definately be his final season with the Cavaliers, where he easily lead the league in assists.
OVERVIEW : The quietly spoken point guard out of Utah was drafted in 1999 with fellow guard Trajan Langdon. A slightly controversial pick, seeing that they already had a steady point in Knight, and had other holes to fill. They certainly went different paths, as Andre kept a then fine tradition of quality point guards in Cleveland, following Terrell Brandon and Mark Price. Initially Miller started off the bench for the Cavalier's but it didn't take too long to see why he was picked 8th overall, resigning Brevin Knight to the bench. Miller's play made Knight expendible and it wasn't long before Knight was playing elsewhere. Miller's solid season was rewarded with all rookie first team selection, even though he played from the bench for half the season.
Miller's ability to get himself into the paint and find open men was his true strength. Miller's assist numbers were remarkable considering the lack of quality scorers's surrounding him. Offensively he was a steady scorer. He lacked range to be a consistent 3 point shooter, but was solid from mid range. Defensively he wasn't terribly strong, and this may have something to do with playing in a losing squad continuously.
Unfortunately for the Cavalier's, Miller was never able to lead Cleveland to the playoffs. This though can be attributed to Ilgauskas's constant injuries to his foot. When in the lineup, the Cavalier's were a winning squad. However, Miller was eventually traded to the Clippers for Darius Miles. As fate would have it, this trade led to the Cavalier's regressing even more, which ultimately landed Cleveland the special talents of LeBron James. Miller has since signed with Denver and is about to start his second season there after leading them to the playoffs. Other highlights was being selected to play for Team USA in the 2002 World Championships.
FACT : Andre Miller in season 2001 - 2002, Andre Miller had 3 triple doubles. A feat which has not been matched since. (Ricky Davis did try unconventially). Edit : LeBron James
WHY AS HIGH AS #18 : Andre Miller was a good talented player in Cleveland, but wasn't blessed with an able support staff. Leading the NBA in assists in a struggling team is a mighty feat, whilst still be an efficient scorer to boot. He constantly broke down his opponent, forcing help defense which he would hit the open man for quality field goal attempts. We will always wonder where a healthy Ilgauskas mixed with Miller would take us.
WHY AS LOW AS #18 : Well, only playing three seasons for the Cavalier's dropped him down the chart. Add to this the Cavalier's failed to make the playoffs each of his seasons here, also showed he wasn't a complete difference maker. Andre was forced to be the star player for this franchise, but he wasn't the type of player to take a team to the next level. A quality player, but no all star.
FINAL THOUGHT : Miller's time in Cleveland unfortunately was played amoungst mediocre talent. But he will be remembered as the quietly spoken point guard who went about his business in a classy fashion, despite the mess he was forced to play in. A very good pass first point guard.
This will be a weekly countdown from 20 to the number 1 Cavalier of all time. Comments are welcome!
Previously :
#19 - Phil Hubbard
#20 - Tyrone Hill
