Miami visits New Orleans on Saturday night in the second night of a road back-to-back set. And although point guard Mario Chalmers is a rookie, look for his matchup against New Orleans' Chris Paul to be one to watch.
Chalmers is coming off matchups with Philadelphia's Andre Miller and San Antonio's Tony Parker, and he did well in both. Chalmers had a franchise-record nine steals against the 76ers, and Parker got injured in the first quarter of Friday's game at San Antonio and didn't return. So, in a sense it wasn't a direct head-to-head matchup against Parker, but Chalmers still came out ahead against the Spurs' point guards. Chalmers' length and aggression have served him well defensively. One of the criticisms of his defense was he gambled too much. But coach Erik Spoelstra watched video of all nine of Chalmers' steals against Philadelphia and Spoelstra said they came within the Heat's defensive system.
"They were coming from the paint, and he has just such great instincts to be able to do that," Spoelstra said. "I don't want him to shortcut where he's gambling overextending, where if he doesn't get the steal, now our back-line defense is exposed."
With each game it becomes more apparent why Indiana executive Larry Bird called Chalmers the "steal of the draft" during Summer League.
HEAT 99, SPURS 83: G Dwyane Wade got excited about Friday's victory at San Antonio, and with good reason.
"Games like this make the future look positive," said Wade, who was one assist shy of a triple-double with 33 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
The Heat, now on a two-game win streak, never trailed and led by as much as 24. In other words, they crushed the Spurs.
"It was great maturity game," coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Miami had a season-low eight turnovers, out-rebounded San Antonio (45-44) and went 20-for-22 on the line, hitting its first 16 free throws. It was a complete victory.
