Heading into Thursday's game versus the 2011-12 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, the Miami Heat point guards have been under heavy scrutiny since the All-Star break. Both Chalmers and Cole have been struggling to find their shot and assist the Big 3 in the running of the offense. Tonight, the point guards put up a combined 22 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals while only committing only 3 turnovers.
Another usual staple for the Heat over the past decade has been the consistency of Udonis Haslem. This season has been by far Haslem's worst shooting season of his career. It appears as though he has found his mid-range jumper. Haslem finished with season-high 16 points on 6-10 shooting and in his last seven games he is shooting 57%. With the assistance of Shane Battier, Udonis Haslem also helped shut down Dirk Nowitzki in the second half. After shooting an unreal 8-10 in the first half, Dirk was held to 1-9 in the second half.
Thursday night was the second time in the Big 3 Era that the Miami Heat did not have a 20-point scorer. The first time was December 1, 2010 versus the Detroit Pistons. In both instances, the Heat enjoyed victories of at least 29 points. The Heat look most impressive when they aren't relying on any single player to provide the majority of the offense. On this night, the recently quiet bench chipped in with 36 points.
The Heat enjoyed a nice comfortable victory against a good team in the Dallas Mavericks. This was the kind of win that could give this team their confidence back (if they ever even lost it). Could we all agree and just start the playoffs already?
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