Finally: Miami’s Ellington set to play a big postseason role
MIAMI » The last time Wayne Ellington played any meaningful minutes in a postseason game was nine years ago. At the Final Four. Ellington was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2009 NCAA Tournament after leading North Carolina to the national title. But since turning pro, postseasons have marked the start of vacations for Ellington, who has been in only two NBA playoff games, logging 13 ½ minutes — all in the fourth quarters of blowouts. That’s about to change. Coming off a record-setting regular season, Ellington will play a vital role for No. 6 seed Miami in an Eastern Conference quarterfinal series that starts Saturday in his hometown of Philadelphia against the third-seeded 76ers.
“It’s so sweet the way it’s coming,” Ellington said. “I don’t want to get religious, but I really feel like it’s God’s plan the way that everything’s worked out, where I ended up at and where I’m headed to. I’m appreciative. After all this time, now to be here, I don’t think a player could be more grateful. You couldn’t script this.”
Ellington set Miami’s single-season 3-point record with 227, and also set an NBA record for 3-pointers by a reserve with 218 (he made nine in his two appearances as a Heat starter this season). He’s going into the postseason coming off the best game of his pro career, a 32-point night that tied the franchise mark for scoring by a reserve in a game.
As Ellington goes, Miami goes: In his two Heat seasons, they are 34-7 when he makes at least half of his 3-point tries, 4354 when he does not.