Mario Chalmers Injury: Updates on Heat Star's Shin and Return
Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers suffered a shin injury in the first quarter of Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald reported the news of Chalmers' injury:
However, the Heat would later provide an encouraging update:
Chalmers was a key player for the Heat during the 2013-14 regular season, contributing 9.8 points and 4.9 assists per game. He was overshadowed by the former Big Three, but was expected to step up in a more offensive role in 2014-15.
This season he has averaged 10.6 points, 4.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds a game in 30.8 minutes per game.
With LeBron James playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chalmers and the rest of the backcourt entered the season with heightened expectations. Chris Bosh discussed the team's reliance on the guards this season, per Surya Fernandez of Fox Sports:
"We're going to be reliant on those guys to handle the ball a lot more for us. Before, we had the luxury of having LeBron be that big point guard and get us in our sets. ... I know the workload is going to be bigger and they're going to have to deal with that. There will be ups and downs with that, but as the season goes on, they'll get better and better.
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Chalmers has remained relatively healthy during his NBA career. He has played in more than 70 games during each of the past two seasons and has averaged 27.5 minutes per game during his career.
A poor performance in the NBA Finals left some questions about Chalmers' role. But Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report offered his take on the unfortunate end to the season:
"That came after Chalmers had started in his last 280 regular-season or playoff appearances, dating back to Game 6 of the 2011 NBA Finals. That came after Chalmers had made his name, as a collegian and as a pro, for self-assurance that at times exceeded, but always enhanced, his abilities.
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If he misses any additional time, the Heat would be without a big piece of their offense.
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