Looking at some of the bubble guys, as opposed to the core players. However, I wanted to point out how good of a game Chris Bosh played, too.
Point Guard Battle Update:
Norris Cole again started the game. He played 22:29, scoring 6 points on 2-of-6, adding two rebounds, two assists and three turnovers. Mario Chalmers came off the bench, this time for Cole rather than as a sixth man in place of Dwyane Wade. He finished with 3 points on 1-of-2 shooting and an assist in about 11 minutes before leaving the game with a hip pointer. We already talked about Napier, who outplayed his competition, but it was in 20 minutes mostly against reserves.
Napier showed an ability to create shots for himself and others that wasn’t demonstrated by Cole or Chalmers. The battle for the starter is still between Cole and Chalmers, neither of whom did enough to set themselves apart. Meanwhile, Napier’s goal isn’t to win the starting job, but to earn more minutes. Too often last season, especially in the playoffs, neither Cole nor Chalmers had a hot hand. This was one of those games, and Napier was able to capitalize and make a difference. I suspect that’s how he will be used in the regular season.