At the NBA regular season’s midpoint, we are grading each Memphis Grizzlies player through the first half of the season. Today we grade Mario Chalmers.
Not too long ago point guard Mario Chalmers was expendable by the Miami Heat. The team traded Chalmers to an organization that needed his combination of perimeter defense and three-point shooting to bolster a struggling backcourt in the Memphis Grizzlies.
Ever since Chalmers arrived on Beale Street he’s made his presence known with a number of quality scoring outputs and game-winning plays for the Grizzlies.
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Since he’s been in Memphis he’s averaged 10.7 points per game on a .423/.347/.817 slash line along with 4 assists per game. He’s been more than the Grizzlies could’ve asked for coming off the bench and is now one of their more prominent reserves along with guard Tony Allen.
Together the two form a dangerous defensive tandem but Chalmers is arguably at his best playing alongside fellow floor general Mike Conley.
Chalmers gives Conley a reliable spot-up shooting option and playmaker to take some of the scoring and distributing duties off of his shoulders. When the two play together both of their lives are much easier on both ends of the floor leading to much smoother possessions for Memphis overall.
As a member of the Grizzlies Chalmers has had eight outings of 15-plus points including a game-winner against the Detroit Pistons. His two-way play has sparked Memphis into the thick of the playoff hunt in the Western Conference and his contributions will be crucial moving forward.
The Grizzlies were looking for a quality backup point guard for a few years now to play well behind Conley and allow the star to get a few minutes rest on the bench. Now Memphis has another point guard in Chalmers to give the teams a few different looks on offense.
Is Chalmers the team’s “savior” by any means? No I don’t believe so. He’s not a star and he makes his living primarily off easy shot opportunities and timely steals. But he is an eight-year veteran in the NBA making him valuable to any team looking to make some noise in the postseason.
His advanced metrics say he’s having the best year of his career with a 16.8 PER and his highest box plus/minus (1.1) since he played with LeBron James in Miami.
He’s still a big deal in terms of what the Grizzlies have to offer on offense. The team struggles with consistently putting points on the board as it is but Chalmers has helped ease the pressure in some situations and will soak up rotation minutes as Memphis gets ready for the playoffs.
Chalmers has been a surprise steal on the trade market for the Grizzlies and hopefully he continues his stellar play late in the year for Memphis.