For those of you who dared to watch that first half of basketball, I'd like to apologize on behalf of the Miami Heat and Utah Jazz. True, I have no authority to issue a statement for those two organizations, but wow...someone's got to say something.
Remember last year when Utah visited Miami? It was glorious. Scoring everywhere. Dwyane Wade hit 5-0 as the Heat beat the Jazz 140-129 in triple overtime. This game? Utah managed half of the Heat's offensive output in the game last year.
The halftime score was Heat over Jazz, 32-30. 62 points in a half. That's eye-bleedingly bad.
But, the Heat got (relatively) hot in the second half, and the defense didn't let up. 80 points ain't great, but considering they were starting from 32, that's an freaking offensive explosion.
Wade ate first, as is to be expected, scoring 29 in the pitchers' duel. For me, the most fascinating player of the game was Mario Chalmers.
I'm a huge advocate of the Heat's sophomores, and Chalmers seems to be falling victim to the sophomore slump. Last night, in 28 minutes, he accumulated six points and two assists. By the reaction on Twitter from those I follow, fans are close to the breaking point with the Kansas man. Yet, he shot 40 percent from behind the arc. If Miami's starting point guard continues with two-assist nights, the team won't score more than 80. But I still have faith in Chalmers. How do you feel about him?
I guess if you're a fan you're a bit frustrated after last night, but just remember a win is a win, and Miami is five games ahead of Toronto in the loss column. It's the Christmas season; show them a little compassion, why don't ya?
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