Mario Chalmers has won championships at every level, but he’ll always be best remembered for his tenure with the Miami Heat.
The 40-year-old point guard led the Heat to four straight Finals appearances with back-to-back championship wins during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Chalmers was a part of the starting five that featured the “Big Three” in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The former Kansas Jayhawks point guard played a key role on those teams as not only the ball handler, but a player who could hit clutch shots and nail three-pointers. He started all 46 postseason games during the 2012 and 2013 postseason runs, averaging 12.3 points per game during the 2012 run.
Fast forward to over a decade since Chalmers last played for the Heat and Miami are championship contenders again — at least it appears so. Miami made their first blockbuster move in years, acquiring former NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo via trade with the Milwaukee Bucks.
There are still major dominos fall, with none bigger than where LeBron James will sign. While obviously a lot hinges on whether or not James signs with the Heat, Chalmers ranks Miami as the third or fourth-best team in the Eastern Conference at the current moment. He considers the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers — following the Jaylen Brown trade — as the top two teams in the East at the moment.
“They’re definitely a top three three or four team in the East,” said Chalmers of the Heat in a one-on-one interview. That Boston trade was a big trade. I think Philly might be the No. 1 team in the East on poke until all the teams are complete. But for Miami they need some shooters around here. Tim Hardaway Jr. was a decent pickup for a shooter. You know they’re right there in the top three teams in the East.”
Heat May Finally Be One of Top Teams in Eastern Conference
The Heat’s current starting five is the following: Bam Adebayo, Antetokounmpo, Andrew Wiggins, Hardaway Jr. and Davion Mitchell. The bench and depth are where there are major question marks, with Bobby Portis — Antetokounmpo’s teammate in Milwaukee — as the lone proven veteran off the bench.
Miami missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 season last year, losing their play-in game. While they made a surprise NBA Finals during the 2022-23 season as an eighth seed, they haven’t been a true top team in the East since the 2021-22 season when they finished the year with a 53-29 record, the best record in the conference.
Mario Chalmers on What Heat Need: A Creator
One of the types of players that Chalmers said the Heat need to add is a “creator.” He mentions Russell Westbrook in that category.
“A creator that can go get his own and also facilitate the offense, able to lock down defenders and switch everything with them,” said Chalmers of what the Heat need. “That’s the good thing about it, you got Giannis who is downhill, so you need these shooters around him to face the floor. Bam, I’m excited to see what Bam’s gonna do. I think this year we see Bam turn more into a Chris Bosh type of person that’s more of a shooter, shooting more threes and outside the paint, and still in this offense.”
We’ll see how that new-look Heat fare this season, but it’s clear they’ll be a legit threat in the East with Antetokounmpo in the fold.
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