The Miami Heat are all tied up with the San Antonio Spurs after a great Game 2 victory on Sunday night and now that the series is 1-1 and heading to Texas, both sides know that Game 3 will be a huge one to win and one reason the Heat are ready is due to the play of LeBron James and the role players.
James has been fantastic all series and all playoffs for the Heat, but without solid contributions from players like Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, Ray Allen and others, Miami might not even be in the finals. The play of Chalmers was impressive on Sunday and without him the Heat could be down 2-0 and not at 1-1. Chalmers led the team with 19 points and he came through while jams struggled early.
Chalmers has been one of the most important pieces for the Heat for some time and his play on Sunday showed why. He shot 50 percent from the floor and was huge in the 103-84 win and now the Heat have a chance to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Chalmers has never been afraid of big moments after playing college at Kansas and hitting an amazing game-winner there and he has continued that style in the finals.
Chalmers has been able to do a good job of keeping Tony Parker in check and he held him to 13 points while making 5 of 14 shots in game 2 and that was another huge deal for the team. The defense helped as Miami went on a 33-5 run in the game and put things away for the victory. Playing with the Big 3 has been a learning experience for Chalmers and his presence on the floor has been a positive one for the team as the playoffs have worn on. Chalmers is arguably the best player on the team pact the Big three and for the Heat to defeat the spurs, it will likely come down to whomever has better bench play down the stretch of the series.
The Spurs have always been a deep team and the continue to do so, but if Cole and Chalmers can continue the way they have been playing, there is a good chance that the Heat will be able to pull ahead and stay there for the series. The team is in the finals for the third straight season, while the Spurs are back for the first time since 2007, although they have been in the playoffs since then. Back in 2007 the team swept LeBron and the Cavs and now it's his chance for revenge and to do it he will need solid play from Chalmers.
"You can't teach that quality - the big game guts," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the Game Two triumph.
"Mario has got guts. Come on. He had that all the way in college. He's got incredible confidence in his game. He's shown that throughout the years, even when it is sometimes - I wouldn't say irrational," the coach added.
