Miami Heat rumors: Mario Chalmers to see minutes increase
By Bryan Rose
The Miami Heat were understandably hoping to bring in a top flight free agent to replace (at least somewhat) LeBron James’ production, though things didn’t work out that way. That said, they were able to retain both Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in free agency, so things could have been significantly worse.
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In a relatively top-heavy Eastern Conference, it’s reasonable to assume that the Miami Heat will probably find themselves in playoff contention again and if that’s the case, they don’t want to wear out Dwyane Wade. Given that, it stands that Mario Chalmers may be the biggest beneficiary of LeBron James’ departure.
Chalmers, who has not averaged over 30 minutes a game since his rookie season should eclipse that total this season as he’s expected to see minutes at both point guard and shooting guard, some to alleviate Wade from playing too often.
"The Heat’s current options behind Wade include Williams, Danny Granger, rookies Tyler Johnson and James Ennis, and point guard Mario Chalmers, who Heat President Pat Riley said is expected to see minutes this coming season at both backcourt positions."
While Ennis, Williams and Johnson are solid players, Chalmers is the better between the four and the most sound with the ball. Danny Granger will play more of a small forward role and he’s not exactly the poster boy for health, so expect to see Mario Chalmers on the court often for the Miami Heat this year.
Of course, whether or not that’s a good thing will be left up to discretion.