How Patty Mills' Return Affects Spurs' Quest to Repeat as Champs

Patty Mills was a critical component of the San Antonio Spurs' championship run last season, but the sharpshooter was unavailable for nearly three months of the 2014-15 campaign while recovering from surgery.

In July 2014, the backup point guard underwent a procedure to repair a bothersome rotator cuff (shoulder), and he was expected to return sometime in January. However, he made his season debut slightly earlier than anticipated, logging his first minutes Dec. 28 against the Houston Rockets.

Now healthy, Mills will most affect the Spurs in a few particular ways—though his offensive skill set is clearly the No. 1 contribution.

The 6'0", 185-pound point guard shot 42.5 percent from three-point range last year, attempting a career-high 3.9 triples per game. In his absence, Danny Green and Marco Belinelli were San Antonio's key marksmen, but the latter is a mediocre defender on his best night.

As strange as it sounds for a player not considered above-average defensively, Mills helps maximize Belinelli's worth in the second unit.

Last season, the Italian's peak all-around value was identified when surrounded by Mills, Manu Ginobili and Boris Diaw. Completed by reserve center Aron Baynes, that five-man unit scored a team-leading 1.35 points per possession, according to 82games.com.

The lineup's defense was admittedly not stellar at 1.00 point allowed per possession, but its offensive production was difficult to contain. Between the facilitation of Ginobili and Diaw, shooting of Mills and Belinelli and physicality of Baynes, it was an eclectic group that simply meshed.

This year, Belinelli's most-efficient lineup—with Tony Parker, Green, Matt Bonner and Tim Duncan—is one Gregg Popovich will probably seldom use when the Spurs are healthy. In fact, Basketball-Reference does not list a single minute from that unit in 2013-14.

Once San Antonio's rotations return to normal when Kawhi Leonard overcomes a hand injury, it will allow the off-ball movement and three-point talents of Mills and Belinelli to shine again.

Plus, Mills is the Spurs' top candidate to trigger an unexplainable hot streak from distance.

"

Patty Mills is the captain and leader of my “There’s no way he makes that sho../splash” team.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) January 4, 2015"

The NBA may as well start calling him Captain Heat Check, because if Mills gets on a roll, everyone knows that questionable—but perhaps converted—shot choice is coming.

One of Mills' most memorable heat checks happened during Game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals, where he had already buried three triples during the decisive third quarter.

Green was caught near the corner but fired a pass to Mills, who received the ball inside the arc, stepped back behind the line and drained the trifecta. It gave the Spurs a 20-point lead with just under 14 minutes remaining.

Mills presents those opportunities for a torrid stretch from downtown with his offensive spacing, of course. He's apt to sit in the corner, roam the perimeter or lose a defender while snaking through occupied space to find an open look.

Cory Joseph received a hearty amount of playing time while Parker and Mills were sidelined, but the point guard is more of a slasher. Yes, Joseph has nailed a career-best 35.3 percent of outside attempts, but he isn't a volume shooter, hoisting just 0.9 per night.

Since Mills' season debut, he's tried 4.6 triples per contest. Additionally, according to Vorped, Mills has shot seven corner threes in five appearances—1.40 per game. Joseph, on the other hand, has launched 18 over 34 showings—0.53 per outing.

San Antonio is recognized for its rapid ball movement, where sequences of snap-passes draw defenders out of position and create open three-pointers. Whereas Joseph will pass up those opportunities more often than not, Captain Heat Check is ready to fire.

But even if Mills isn't connecting on his offensive trademark, he still provides energy unmatched on the San Antonio roster. The Australian offers a spark, despite not being a terrific defender.

So long as he doesn't get caught out of position, Mills disrupts opposing backcourts, chasing guards around the court, fighting through screens and getting a hand in the shooter's line of vision.

In 2013-14, he sprinted to the No. 1 spot in the league with an average speed of 4.8 miles per hour, per NBA.com. This year, Mills has increased it slightly to a still-NBA-leading 4.9.

He's now giving a much-needed backcourt companion to Joseph and Ginobili, who carried the Spurs when Mills, Parker and Leonard were all shelved.

Plus, the inevitability of an injury to Ginobili still lingers, and Mills is a prime candidate to benefit from some of the Argentine's vacated playing time. During the 14 games Manu missed last season, Mills tallied 22.3 minutes per game, a notable jump from 18.1 in all other showings.

Mills isn't elite by any stretch of the imagination, but the fifth-year guard is a shining example of a perfect role player in San Antonio. Excluding nights where Popovich rests a majority of his top scorers, the streaky guard isn't expected to shoulder the load offensively or be a lockdown defender.

But if Mills heats up, knocks down a couple of triples and supplies adequate defense, that's exactly what the Spurs need from him in their quest for another championship.

Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and are accurate as of Jan. 7.

Follow Bleacher Report NBA writer David Kenyon on Twitter: @Kenyon19_BR