Miami Heat starting point guard Mario Chalmers has a bruised left knee, and he’s listed as questionable for tonight’s Game 2 against the Charlotte Bobcats. Per the Miami Herald:
Chalmers was limited in practice Tuesday and will be reevaluated by team trainers before Wednesday morning’s shootaround and then again before Game 2 of the first-round playoff series. The Heat defeated the Bobcats 99-88 on Sunday at AmericanAirlines Arena to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. Wednesday’s Game 2 is at 7 p.m. (TNT, Sun Sports).
“He still has that bruise on his knee and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of Chalmers. “He did make progress from [Monday].”
Chalmers injured his knee during the first quarter Sunday but stayed in the game. He was limited to 25 minutes and only played two minutes in the fourth quarter. Reserve point guard Norris Cole responded to Chalmers’ injury with a solid effort off the bench. He played 28 minutes and scored seven points.
If Chalmers is held out of Wednesday’s game, either Cole or Toney Douglas would be inserted into the starting lineup. Douglas started for Dwyane Wade for nine straight games in April. Elevating Douglas to starter in place of Chalmers would allow Spoelstra to keep his second unit intact.
