The Miami Heat will look back on this and remark that one of their role players, a starting point guard named Mario Chalmers didn’t play his best game when he had the chance to perform. The other role players, like Chris Andersen, Ray Allen, and Norris Cole are contributing statistically-wise to the Heat success. Andersen provides grit and defense and rebounding and that’s all Erik Spoelstra is asking of him. Ray Allen, the sharpshooter, has seen success in winning an NBA title and wants to add another title to his resume. Allen provides veteran leadership and a shooting stroke that’s hard to master for many years. Cole has seen playing time behind Chalmers and is a spark plug when the Miami Heat need it. Cole and Chalmers haven’t shown up in the NBA Finals and they haven’t shown it that they needed to produce points when the team needed to win basketball games.
Tag Archives: Chris Andersen
1 Thing Miami Must Do to Get Going in Game 2
One thing the Miami Heat and head coach Erik Spoelstra must adjust and do in Game 2 in San Antonio is get Mario Chalmers going. Sharpshooter Ray Allen had 10 points and Chris Andersen had his share of defensive intensity and rebounds in Game 1. If Chalmers scores over 10 points, I guarantee you Miami will have a chance to win the ball game and Game 2 and have the advantage for home court for Games 3 and 4 in Miami.
Heat win Game 2 87-83 against Indiana Pacers
The Miami Heat…are…on a roll late here in Game 2. They come back to win the game 87-83, because of Lebron James and Dwyane Wade. Credit Norris Cole and Chris Andersen for their help too. They did something to help Miami stay in the game. All in all, it was a fantastic game, one in which there was a scary moment in a collision between Paul George and Dwyane Wade. It wasn’t serious, although George admitted he blacked out, but he is okay. The Heat gain homecourt advantage for Games 3 and 4 in Miami, and we’ll see what happens there as the series shifts there.
NBA Finals Thoughts: Mike Miller starting and Udonis Haslem being benched
This is one of the best possible moves that Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has made. He made room for a perimeter shooter in Mike Miller and sent his rebounding hound and defensive backup in Udonis Haslem to the bench. Spoelstra hasn’t sent in his energy guy, Chris ‘Birdman’ Andersen into the game, both instances in which Miami won Game 4 and San Antonio in turn winning Game 5. What’s up with that? I think Spoelstra needs Andersen to guard Tim Duncan, because he will help Miami out with his energy and rebounding and defense.
Miami vs. Indiana Game 7
Miami finally did it. They finally took care of business in a winner-takes-all Game 7 in Miami and Lebron James had 32 points and Dwyane Wade had 21 points in a 99-76 rout. Miami could’ve taken care of business with Indiana, but they were lackadaisical in their approach in handling basketball matters with the Pacers. Here’s why: one, you didn’t bring your patent fast break with Wade and James immediately from the tip-off and instead of playing to your strengths like relying on athleticism and speed, they played directly into the Indiana Pacers’ tempo and game of pace where the Pacers were bringing their size and muscle and physicality into the Heat and into the paint. The Miami Heat didn’t impose their speed game and their two-man fast break of Lebron James and Dwyane Wade. I really think the Heat are fortunate, not lucky, to win against Indiana, because the Pacers were really making Miami take and make tough shots. Every shot Miami was taking was because Indiana was making them take the shot.
It was nearly impossible for Miami to bring size and physicality into the Pacers, because Roy Hibbert is much taller than Miami’s frontline and the Heat had to bring Chris Andersen, the Birdman, off the bench to show Indiana how much fortitude they had against a bigger Pacers team. I felt like the Indiana Pacers, Frank Vogel’s squad, had the upper hand throughout the series, because they didn’t rely on size, but imposed it on the Miami Heat and several times throughout the series, the Pacers really did seem like they had the series lead. It felt like the Pacers were up 3 games to 1 or something. It was a close battle to the end.
Congrats to the Miami Heat team for winning a 7-game series in a Game 7, where Indiana had Miami on the ropes throughout the entire seven games they had played. Indiana really took it to the Heat.
More Game 1s of 2013 NBA Playoffs
The Indiana Pacers crushed the Atlanta Hawks 107-90 in their Game 1 behind balanced scoring from their players. The Pacers’ strong suit is having their guys play solid defense and have the ball passed around to the open person so the open guy can shoot. They did that well and that’s why the Pacers win Game 1. Manu Ginobli and the San Antonio Spurs saw to it that they play better basketball than the Los Angeles Lakers did and that resulted in a Spurs Game 1 win. The Miami Heat played outstanding basketball, because of Chris Andersen and Ray Allen. The play of Allen and Andersen helped Miami win 110-87 against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Oklahoma City Thunder crushed the visiting Houston Rockets at home in OKC 120-91 behind scoring efforts from Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, and Kevin Martin.
Overall NBA Thoughts
The way Miami is playing and the San Antonio Spurs are playing, I would like to see both of these teams represent the East and the West in the NBA Finals. The Spurs are unbelievably playing out of their mind and are not getting much notice, despite knowing that San Antonio All-Star point guard Tony Parker is out with an ankle injury. I like Miami’s chances of repeating, because they’re got talent and two Heat All-Stars playing really well in Dwyane Wade and Lebron James. If Bosh can contain Tim Duncan or Chris Andersen can defend Duncan’s looks at the basket and the Heat limit Ginobli and Parker, when he comes back, to easy baskets and looks and layups, the Heat really have an easy time committing themselves to getting their second NBA title. Forget knowing that Lebron James will leave the Heat in 2014, yes he is leaving Miami, though he should stay if he is committing to testing free agency, James left Cleveland bitter enemies there and won an NBA championship in Miami. I like knowing the fact that Lebron James is a proven winner, regardless of leaving Cleveland as a free agent and bolted for Miami there where he has an NBA title.
Who can beat the Miami Heat?
I guarantee it. There’s no one on this planet who can stop Lebron James. You can only hope to contain him. He and Dwyane Wade are an unstoppable force, forces only met by challenges from within will the Miami Heat championship be thwarted on their way to their second consecutive NBA title. With the ‘Birdman’ Chris Andersen and shooters like Ray Allen, Mike Miller, Rashard Lewis, and James Jones and role players like Udonis Haslem, Mario Chalmers, Chris Bosh, and Shane Battier, they will be tough to beat when you have an ultra fast break with James and Wade on the wings and shooters challenging you to put in the basket as fast as Allen, Miller, Lewis, Chalmers, and Jones can put it in.
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