Suddenly, the Miami Heat are just as short on point guards as ever.
At the beginning of the season, they actually had a surplus at the position, with five point guards in Mario Chalmers, Carlos Arroyo, Eddie House, Patrick Beverly and Kenny Hasbrouck.
Carlos Arroyo started in the season opener and only a few months later he was cut in favor of Mike Bibby.
Even with the veteran Bibby, Chalmers was still listed as the starter and backed it up by limiting his mistakes and hitting the open three-pointers, which has been the teams kyrptonite this season.
He had not produced in the past three games, but he was consistently hitting the shots that he was supposed to make prior to March 14th.
The acquisition of Bibby must have set a fire under Mario because he played some of his best basketball of the season in the weeks after.
Mike might have become the starter sooner or later as he became more comfortable with the team and became more knowledgeable of the offensive play book, but it was still Chalmers’ job to lose.
However, early on in the Heat’s 103-98 win over the Denver Nuggets, the Heat lost their young starting point guard to what is now being called a right knee sprain that is set to sideline Mario for two weeks.
While it’s going to be interesting to see what the team can do with Bibby as the new floor general, it will also hurt the team knowing that they only have two true point guards on the roster, with one of them being a shoot-first type of guard in Eddie House.
Injuries have not been kind to the Heat this year with now six key players succumbing to an ailment at least once this season.
Each member of the big three has had to sit out a game, Mike Miller suffered a pre-season injury and still hasn’t found his shot, Udonis Haslem has been out since November and Chalmers now is the newest addition.
Call it the Dan Gilbert curse, but this team has had some unfortunate occurrences this year.
People shouldn’t complain, as having Mike Bibby as the starter is long overdue because of his veteran leadership and ability to hit big shots; he has hit at least four three-pointers in two of the 10 games that he has played with Miami.
He came up huge as well when Miami lost Chalmers early on.
Bibby played 34 minutes, running with the first unit, and finishing with 14 points on five of nine shooting, four of eight from beyond the arc. He only had two assists, yet Bibby gave the Heat some of the most solid production they have seen all year from the point guard position.
Now he is thrown into the fire that is the Heat starting lineup; a lineup that has already had three changes at the center position and now three at the point guard spot.
As Bibby continues to learn the play book and the offensive tendencies of his new teammates, he’ll be able to take the ball up himself rather than allowing LeBron James or Dwyane Wade to pound the ball and dictate the offense.
Wade or James can exhaust an offense’s strategy and leave the team at a disadvantage when opposing defenses eventually figure out the Heat’s limited offensive game plan.
Having Bibby as the primary ball-handler not only allows a veteran floor leader to control the offense, but it allows Miami to add a primary threat as a shooter and solid passer.
Chalmers, Arroyo and House were not big-time pass-first point guards as Bibby has proven to be.
Not only that, but it allows a veteran to possibly take control of a team littered with superstars in the starting lineup.
The fact that he played a few years with Chris Webber should be enough reason to say that Bibby will be extremely capable of leading an offense that consists of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
He knows that these superstars want the ball in their hands to score and it would be tough to doubt that Mike isn’t capable of giving the ball up to his All-Star teammates.
The fact that Mike came here for far less than what he should have been earning with Washington is also proof enough that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to secure himself a championship.
He’s here for one primary objective and it has been clear that he won’t let ego’s or poor performances deter him from obtaining his goal. While he might just be recognized as a ring chaser, he might play the largest role on the team come playoff time.
Most importantly, he’s the exact player that the Heat need to put them over the top against their Eastern Conference foes in the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics.
Too many times this season Derrick Rose and the Bulls and Rajon Rondo and the Celtics have torched the Heat with their point guard play.
Miami now has a player at the point that it can thrive off of rather than the point guard that thrives off of them.
It’s easy to say that Mike has lost quite a few steps since his prime years with the Sacramento Kings, but he’s the type of player that the Heat need to lead an offense.
With Erick Dampier and the teams new found love of Jamaal Magloire, the Heat have found help in the middle for the moment, which other than point guard, was the teams other glaring hole.
Mario is a very raw player who has the potential to become a quality point guard if he can remain consistent and can learn how to pass; something he can learn from Bibby.
Chalmers has the ability to be more than just a catch and shoot point guard, and if he can harness his potential, he can be a real weapon for the team in the upcoming seasons.
With the way the Heat have pummelled the Spurs, Grizzlies and Hawks, while also showing they can persevere through struggles in their wins against Denver and the Lakers, Miami is beginning to give teams a reason to fear them once again.