Miami Heat: Mario Chalmers For Sixth Man Of The Year?
By David Ramil
In an opening night victory over the Washington Wizards, guard Mario Chalmers characteristically drove to the paint, found himself surround by much taller players, drew the defenders away from the hoop and then threw a sharp pass to a cutting teammate for an easy basket.
This may seem like a play that isn’t worth noting but then you haven’t regularly watched Chalmers in his six-year tenure with the Miami Heat.
As I pointed out a few weeks ago, Chalmers was in a tough spot down in Miami. Suddenly relegated to the bench in favor of Norris Cole — and with rookie Shabazz Napier quickly adjusting to life in the NBA — things were not looking good.
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Chalmers, of course, has earned a reputation in basketball circles as the verbal piñata of the “Big 3” era. Perpetually cast as the “little brother” to superstars
LeBron James,
Dwyane Wadeand
Chris Bosh, the NCAA national champion reverted into a caricature of himself — both vastly overconfident yet never productive enough to justify that self-image.
The issue with Chalmers always appeared to be a mental one. In years past, that play I described earlier would have likely led to a forced shot. Mario’s always been a quick trigger, a player with a devil-may-care attitude that screams, “I got this” at no one in particular.
Instead, he’s embraced the would-be demotion and become, in just two games this season, an improved player.
The numbers from this admittedly small sample size are encouraging — 25 minutes a game, 8-of-15 shooting, eight assists and five steals.
He dropped 18 on the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday night and while it’s easy to dismiss the performance when considering the opponent, Cole (who had scored a career-high 23 points against Washington) and Napier were getting worked by Sixers guard Tony Wroten.
Chalmers handled his business, got to the free throw line 10 times and scored more than Miami’s other point guards combined.
It’s a welcome sight to see for Heat fans, a suddenly mature version of Chalmers. Give credit to both the player and the coaching staff, who have obviously sold Chalmers on the prospect of being an offensive boost off the bench.
He’s playing both guard positions and while Cole and Napier struggle with increased minutes and with Wade still likely to deal with nagging knee issues, Chalmers will get plenty of opportunity to produce.
But the biggest difference (again, small sample size) is that Mario seems to understand that with less time on the floor, he can’t simply make the casual mistake he’s often been guilty of during his career. His time on the floor isn’t guaranteed but he’s been tasked with making the most of it, being productive and not forcing anything.
It’s a far cry from the player that struggled in the NBA Finals last season and was barely playing by the time Miami was eliminated in Game 5.
Looking at the different role, it seems a perfect fit for Chalmers skills; a capable passer, good floor spacer, decent slasher and unmatched confidence. It’s a wonder the experiment wasn’t tried sooner, to be honest.
But with Norris Cole set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season and with Napier’s outside shooting still well behind the rest of his talents, having Chalmers able to handle point guard duties is a great benefit to Miami. His ability to do so responsibly is a welcome surprise.
Of course, if you ask Chalmers, he’d probably respond that he’s always been capable of doing it all. And in order to be a viable candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year award, it’s the right kind of attitude to have.